Senseless: The Sixth Quarter Quell
by TheEngineeringGames
Summary: After the tumultuous 149th Hunger Games, excitement for the Sixth Quarter Quell has reached a peak. But with a population starting to grow restless, will the Quarter Quell succeed? Or will everyone involved become senseless?
1. Quell

**Prologue 1:**

 _Three Months Before The Quell_

 _Clark Botwright, Victor of the 149_ _th_ _Hunger Games_

Clark pulls the hood closer around his face as he weaves around the other students as they leave the university, trying to blend in with the crowd around him. But he can't go anywhere now without being recognized in the District, especially not when he's the youngest person attending these classes. Even after being in these classes for several months now, there are still a few who will whisper about him, a mix of awe and aversion. The aversion he deserves for the way he was at the start. The awe… not so much. He didn't do anything special in the games to deserve awe.

When Clark steps out the door, he pauses to take in the bustling noise, still appreciating it every single day. It's one more reminder that he made it out of the arena, no longer in the quiet, snowy forest…

 _Except he lost so much in that arena._

"Clark."

Clark's attention is brought back to District Eight, knowing that voice anywhere. It would be hard for him to not recognize the sharp tone laced with concern from his former mentor and now fellow victor. From his family. Clark stubbornly walks down the front steps of the university, heading towards the older woman sitting on the edge of the fountain in front, not trying to hide her bright hair that makes her stick out. "Come to babysit me? Don't think I can handle watching the announcement on my own?" Astrid only smiles at his stubbornness and stands up when he reaches her. He looks up at her, realizing that their height difference isn't as obvious as before. "Are you shrinking? That old already?"

"No kid, you're just finally getting to be the height of a normal person," Astrid lets out a single laugh at this as they start walking back towards their homes. Like every other day, Clark is thanking the President for placing the university close to the Victor's Village so he doesn't have to walk past so many people. So many people staring at him because he killed people older than him and lost his friends.

"What did you work on today?" Astrid finally asks, glancing over at him and seemingly unaware of the attention following them as people rush home to make it in time for the announcement.

Clark tightens his grip on the strap on his shoulder, bringing the messenger bag in front of him protectively. "The usual…" he mumbles to her, staring down at the ground so he doesn't have to face his mentor. Doesn't want to see the pity from her that he still can't get past the games.

When he finally decides to look over at Astrid, he's shocked by the smile on her face, almost looking…proud of him. Which only makes him start scowling because what has he done to deserve that pride? "She would be so happy to see you taking these art classes."

"She would have been happier being in them herself," Clark mutters to himself and looks ahead, standing a bit on his toes to try and see above the crowd. Just barely, he can catch sight of the gates around their homes.

"You're right," Astrid answers and Clark can just see her shrug out of the corner of his eye. "But you know how it works. We were only going to ever get one of you out. That's something you _really_ need to start getting ready for, now that we're only a few months away."

"I know that!" Clark stubbornly responds, voice starting to raise at the thought of being a mentor, even with Astrid coaching and working with him for the same tribute. He lets out a shaky sigh at the stress that has been slowly building up in him for the past couple of weeks as the Quell announcement approached. Stress that whatever they throw at them is going to be too much for Clark to help them. Hell, he barely even knows how to help in a normal year… "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Astrid asks as they wait at the corner to cross a busy intersection. She leans against the light post, arms crossed as she looks down at Clark. The look on her face would have terrified Clark nine months ago. But now…now it's one more reminder that she believed in him and did so much to get him home.

When the light changes, Clark quickly starts crossing, leaving Astrid behind him as he mutters to himself, shaking his head, "Stupid, so stupid to be feeling this way." He hears Astrid taking quick steps to catch up to his side and when he looks over at her, he can feel his eyes prickling with unnecessary tears. "I'm sorry I'm being stubborn and stressed about this stupid Quell twist. I don't know why you still even care or stick around me…"

"You can be as stubborn as you want," Astrid starts as they finally pass through the gates into the Victor's Village and Clark lets out a sigh of relief that they are away from the constant stares. He pulls down his hood, shaking out his hair that he refuses to get cut. "But I'm not abandoning you. You should have known before you even left that arena that I wouldn't abandon you. You and Velour are practically my brothers now. Speaking of," Astrid pauses to look down at Clark, putting a hand on his shoulder to stop him from continuing to walk to his house. "A few of us are watching the announcement together at Barathea's house. I waited for you after class because I want you to join us."

"I can handle watching it alone," Clark lets out a huff, a little annoyed at the thought that she's babying him. But deep down, he is grateful at the concern for him in her eyes that she can't hide. "Not that I would really be alone. I have Bjark."

"I know," Astrid answers and smiles at him, a genuine, proud smile, that pushes away any hesitation Clark had at joining her and the others. "But I don't want you to be alone."

Clark takes a long look over at his house, knowing he could go there and just be alone. He could be alone and let out all the pent up rage and sadness without anyone around to judge him when he sees the Quell twist and gets another terrible reminder that he has to start mentoring tributes and try not to get attached. Try not to become friends with them and then be even more broken every time one of them dies.

But he lets out a sigh and turns back to Astrid, trying to smile at her and failing. "Fine, but only for the announcement. Then I'm going home and finishing up my assignment due tomorrow."

Astrid gives him a knowing smile before starting to walk towards Barathea's house, leaving Clark to walk quickly to catch up with her. As they approach the door, he hesitates, still unsure about being around the victors that are so much older than him. Velour…he has gotten along with very well, thanks to their closer age. But Barathea? She's old enough to be his mother and has been a better mother than his own.

"Clark," Astrid says cautiously as she stands with her hand on the doorknob, staring back at him.

"I know, I know," Clark tells her before taking the few steps up the porch. He sighs loudly when Astrid opens the door and he's met first with a bunch of dogs running at him. He sets his bag down carefully as he crouches down, wrapping his arms around his very large dog and letting Bjark lick his face, immediately feeling comforted by his friend. "Hey boy, were you good today?" Right behind Bjark are four little corgi puppies that make the smile on his face only grow. But then he's met with a variety of smells from Barathea cooking dinner. "I'm not leaving early, am I?"

"Absolutely not," Astrid answers happily and Clark lets out a big sigh as he picks up his bag and starts walking into the house, followed closely by the dogs. Astrid follows Clark inside the house, seemingly unbothered by the announcement happening shortly. "You can work on the assignment here. Hey Barathea!"

The older, even _more_ intimidating woman pops her head around the corner of the kitchen, grinning when she sees Astrid and Clark there. "Hi guys! I'm just throwing the chicken in the oven but everyone is in the living room. I'll be there in a minute."

"You only have a minute!" An older man calls from the living room as Astrid puts a hand on Clark's back, leading the younger boy over there. When they enter the room, Hessian tries to give Clark a reassuring smile that Clark tentatively returns. He's still not used to seeing the victor of the 100th Games so often.

"Hi," Clark says timidly, clutching his bag tightly and just feeling out of place as Astrid sits on a couch next to Hessian. Barathea walks in, carrying a tray of glasses of water before taking a spot near the older victors. Why did they even invite him? He's so out of place here.

"Hey Clark," a tired, quiet voice says from behind him. Clark glances over his shoulder, feeling a little relieved to see Velour standing there. "Come on, I'm sitting over here." Clark nods his head, letting the victor lead him over to a couch. When Velour sits down, he scoops up Boots from the floor and places her on his lap before pointing at her puppies. "Sit," he commands and they all listen to him, immediately sitting at his feet. Clark shakes his head at how well they behave for him before he hesitantly sits down, gently setting his bag down at his feet. Bjark jumps up immediately, piling onto his lap even though he's way too big to sit on his lap. "How are you holding up?" Velour asks quietly so the older victors don't hear.

Clark looks over at Velour as the screen switches away from the Capitol seal to show the President, bringing with it a rush of anxiety at what he's about to say. He'd been doing well lately, but the approaching announcement has backtracked all that progress. "I'm not."

"Me too," Velour whispers to him as they turn their gaze to the screen.

Astrid reaches over to grab on to Clark's hand as President Xavier clears his throat. Clark almost pulls his hand away, before gripping it tightly in fear. He closes his eyes, not ready to hear whatever cruel twist they're going to put the tributes through. The very first tributes he has to mentor as a victor.

"For the Sixth Quarter Quell," the President starts slowly and Clark opens his eyes when he hears Velour's breathing get uneven next to him. He holds out his free hand hesitantly to the older boy, almost expecting him to reject the offer. But Velour takes it, giving Clark a small but thankful smile that makes Clark feel unworthy of Velour's gratefulness.

"To remind the District that their survival depends on the Capitol like a person depends on their senses," the President continues, drawing Clark's attention back to the screen as confusion starts to build in him at where he's going with this Quell twist. "Each tribute will lose one of their five senses in the arena."

The five victors all sit in silence as the Capitol crowd cheers for this twist. Clark is left staring at the screen, the twist slowly sinking in. Lose a sense? "They can't?" He asks in confusion, turning to glance over at the older victors. Those that have seen a Quell before or even won one. "Does he really mean?"

"Yes," Hessian says quietly, voice full of pain as he closes his eyes. Barathea puts a hand on his shoulder, trying to bring him back from the memories of his own Quell. "Somehow, the Capitol is going to take away their senses."

Clark stares blankly at Hessian, still trying to grasp just what this will mean for the tributes they're mentoring. Slowly, his own games memories start creeping in, no matter how hard he tries to keep them locked away. He competed against a blind tribute. He watched in the games recap how she struggled through the arena on her own. _She struggled in the arena and she lived her whole life blind._

Clark tries to imagine what it would be like to be blind in the arena or unable to hear. But the thought is so terrible that he finds himself starting to hyperventilate at how terrible it would be, unable to know who is around you, constantly in fear of the other tributes.

"Clark!"

The shout of his name makes him blink a few times, slowly focusing on the face in front of him. He hadn't even noticed Astrid moving in front of him, watching him carefully with wide eyes. "Clark! It's going to be okay. You're not doing this alone."

"But the twist," Clark whispers, his voice shaking in fear of what's to come. "It's terrible. How can they do that?"

"Clark," Astrid says once more, grabbing on to his face to keep him focused on her. "Whatever they do to our tributes, we're going to do our damn best to help them. And just remember, this could have been way worse."

Worse than losing one of his senses? He hesitantly looks over at Hessian, the Quell victor still staring at the screen and with tears silently running down his face. Astrid is right…it could be much worse. Hessian is proof of that…

But that doesn't stop Clark from feeling completely unprepared for this.

* * *

 **AYYY LET'S GET THIS HYPE PARTY STARTED! Alright, I've been so freaking excited for MONTHS now to post this story and reveal the Quarter Quell twist! So yes, for the Sixth Quarter Quell, each tribute is going to lose either their sense of sight, hearing, touch, taste, or smell! Now you might be thinking 'smell or taste wouldn't be that bad'. Oh just wait lol, I have big plans for the arena.**

 **Anyways, this is going to be another full SYOT so I really hope you'll want to submit to this story! Submission info is up on my profile! I'm using the same system I did for Overlooked: I have a limited number of submissions for each spot and I'll allow reservations for submission spots! Submissions will be open for four weeks so on June 22nd, I'll post the last prologue containing the tribute list! There will be at least one prologue in the mean time, just to keep getting you hyped for this!**

 **For those of you that read Overlooked, you know at times my updates slow to maybe once a month. It's going to be the same for this once summer is over so if that isn't your cup of tea, sorry lol, can't change how chaotic my life is.**

 **So of course, I'd love to hear your thoughts on the Quell twist! And of course, we got to see a glimpse of our favorite new victor!**

 **I'm really looking forward to this story and I can't wait to see what crazy tributes you send in!**


	2. An Unprecedented Conference

**Prologue 2:**

 _Two and a half months before the Quell_

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

Seraphim doesn't have a single clue how today is going to go, but he has a feeling he's going to need a drink after, no matter what happens. Because what's going to happen when he brings together eleven stressed victors?

 _Hopefully no fists will be thrown…or hopefully he won't be thrown through a table._

Well…hopefully District Eight isn't sending Barathea. Seraphim shudders at the thought of being sent through a table again, even if it is unlikely that she would show up here drunk. But now's not the time to think about that party story.

No, now is the time to focus on the eleven people he has to entertain and keep civil.

Laelia clears her throat from next to him as there's a knock on the door. "Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"Oh it's definitely not a good idea," Seraphim chuckles and gives her a cheeky grin before turning towards the door and motioning for the victors to be let in. "Remember this moment because you won't ever see anything like this again."

The first to enter the room don't surprise Seraphim, as he expected the career Districts to be the most accepting of the Quarter Quell. Even after fourteen years of being a Gamemaker, he still finds himself a little awed at having both Thetis Oneiroi _and_ Kat Liero in front of him. He just can't help it, they're legends. They're the victors that children in the Capitol grow up hearing about.

The two older women are talking quietly to themselves, although the stop when they notice him watching them. But he gives them a smile, motioning to the seats to his left with little place cards reading _'District One'_ and _'District Two'_. "Hello you two. It's been a while since I've seen you in the Capitol."

"Is he calling us old?" Thetis says to Kat as they take their seats, and Seraphim can feel his face starting to flush as Kat raises an eyebrow at him. Her gaze is so sharp, he suddenly wonders how any volunteer from Two can handle working with her.

"I think he is," Kat responds, leaning back in her chair to stare at Seraphim as she crosses her arms.

"Th-th-that isn't what I meant!" Seraphim finally stutters out, terrified that these two legends are going to punch him.

Thetis and Kat share a look with each other before they both start laughing, leaving Seraphim to just stare at them in surprise for a moment. Kat is the first to speak up as more victors start to enter the room. "Seraphim, learn to take a joke, would you?"

"What did you two do? He looks like he's seen a ghost!"

Seraphim looks over as Iona walks towards the other two career victors, smile on her face as she shakes her head at the pair. "Nothing dear," Thetis answers as Iona reaches them and gives them both a quick kiss on the cheek. "Just made him think he offended us."

"That wasn't very nice," someone speaks up from the other side of Seraphim and he barely has time to glance over before Fonio grabs Seraphim's face, holding his chin and pointing at it with his other hand. Seraphim can only stare wide-eyed at the victors, completely baffled by what is happening to him. "He's too pretty to look all worried."

"I-I-um-a-" Seraphim sputters out before finally pointing over to the spot marked for District Nine. "Um…please have a seat, Fonio."

"Sure dear," Fonio releases his face and Seraphim rubs his jaw as he watches the older victor make his way over, being sure to pass Thetis and pretending to give her a kiss, only for her to shove him away while Iona stifles laughs at them.

"What have I gotten myself into…" Seraphim mutters to himself as Fonio takes his seat – without any other kissing attempts. But when the District Nine victor realizes Seraphim is watching him, he winks at the Head Gamemaker and makes him flush in embarrassment. Yeah, Seraphim likes his older men, but it's not like Fonio just won his games. Fonio is just… _so_ old.

The next two victors to enter have Seraphim letting out a sigh of relief as he doesn't think they'll cause him any stress. Johan gives him a brief nod of his head in greeting while Letha tries to give him a wave, but he can tell she's upset about this meeting. So Seraphim tries to give them both a comforting smile as they stop talking and just stand in the doorway. "Letha, Johan, welcome. Johan, I apologize but I'm afraid you're going to have to sit next to Fonio."

Fonio roars in laughter at this while Johan simply sighs as he makes his way to his seat. But Seraphim can see the amusement in his eyes. "Well, it certainly won't be the first time I've been this unlucky."

"Johan, there are hundreds of people who would pay thousands to be in your seat next to me!" Fonio answers as he puts a hand on Johan's shoulder, leaning closer to him. "Not as many as there used to be – oh man, those were the days when I could get any man or woman I wanted-"

Fonio is cut off by Letha clearing her throat and Seraphim finds himself thankful for her stopping him from having to hear stories of Fonio as a young victor. They all know what he was like. "Maybe you shouldn't talk about this in front of Pinova?"

"Hmm?" Fonio raises an eyebrow as they all look over at the door to see Pinova standing there, awkwardly staring at the mentors gathered there so far. And surprisingly, Astrid stands next to her, appearing as if they had been talking before attention was drawn to them. "Ah, our second youngest victor!" Fonio continues as the surprising pair enter the room, Pinova trying to put on a confident face. "My, aren't you a little cutie-ah!"

In a flash, Astrid has reached out to him and grabbed him by the ear, pulling him up out of his seat and closer to her face. "Fonio, I am not putting up with your bullshit. Leave the girl alone."

"Okay, okay!" Fonio says quickly, getting Astrid to let go of his ear to take her spot next to him. Fonio rubs that ear as he looks over at Seraphim bitterly. "Aren't you going to yell at her for being rude to an old man like me?"

"Because it's you is exactly why he shouldn't say anything," Thetis mutters under her breath next to Seraphim, making him snort at her comment. He gets a small smirk and a wink from her before their attention is drawn again to victors entering.

This one though tries to enter relatively unnoticed, holding a book tightly to his chest as he keeps his head down. "Hello Glenwood," Seraphim calls out, trying to get the District Seven victor to feel a bit more comfortable as he takes his seat. "Did you have a good train ride?"

"Just fine," Glenwood responds quietly, briefly nodding his head in greeting to Astrid next to him.

"Dampero, I'm telling you, it's not just a simple matter," Seraphim can hear from the doorway as the last two victors approach, making him smile at their conversation. "You simply cannot use standard materials for a circuit trying to handle that kind of voltage."

"Then why don't you make the material," the District Six victor offers as he reaches the room with the District Three victor, both of them looking down at a set of papers.

When Matla glances up and realizes they're the last ones to arrive, she takes off her glances and quickly gathers her papers. "Sorry, we were talking about my latest project."

"You're right on time," Seraphim responds as the two take their seats, filling up the remaining spots at the circular table. He had been insistent on that, wanting to make sure none of the outer Districts felt like they were less than the career Districts. He takes a deep breath as he looks at all of them, hoping for just a moment that they'll get through this without any fights. He briefly makes eye contact with Laelia and can tell she's amazed by what an odd situation this is. "Well, we might as well get started. And I'm going to start by making sure it is clear that I invited you here to hear every comment, concern, complaint, whatever you may have, be it good or bad. This is also so I can answer any questions you may have about the Quell. But I promise you, whatever you say here will not cause you any risk or harm to your families. Am I clear?" He waits until he has agreements from everyone, some looking more willing than the others, but they do all agree eventually, sending a feeling of relief through him. "Good. Let's start by just seeing what you all think about the Quell. We'll start with Thetis and just go around the table. Oh and if you could tell me who is mentoring this year, that would be great."

Thetis clears her throat as she sits up a bit, giving a smile and a shrug at Seraphim. "Well it certainly isn't anything I've seen before. I'll just wait and see how the actual games go. As for mentoring, I will be joining Emilio this year, and I have to admit, I'm a little happy to mentor again this year. It's been a while and I do enjoy it." She pauses to let out a laugh and glances over at the District Five victor. "I can understand how Letha keeps mentoring each year for almost forty years."

Letha flushes at this comment and shakes her head at Thetis, "Don't tell everyone how old I am!"

But this only makes Thetis laugh loudly and wave her hand dismissively at Letha. "Honey, you weren't even of Reaping age when I won. And don't worry, Fonio is older than all of us."

This makes Seraphim snort and quickly try to cover it up with a cough. He clears his throat as Fonio gives Thetis an offended look, trying to keep things calm. "Kat?"

The District Two victor cracks her knuckles absentmindedly before answering, but Seraphim can see that the action is unnerving to some of the others, especially Pinova. "Well, Thetis, I'm surprised that Emilio is going with you. He's spent so much time in District Two with Jory that I've started to think he forgot where he's from," Kat gives a small shrug at this, trying to look casual but Seraphim can see in her eyes that there's more to this that she isn't mentioning. More that he knows about from someone… "We're ready for District Two to claim another Quarter Quell victory. We have plenty that are ready to earn that honor."

"We also have plenty ready to volunteer," Thetis interrupts and the two career women share a look, making Seraphim nervous that they'll start arguing.

But Kat nods her head at this and continues, "I'm not surprised at that. But I'm making sure District Two gets the victory this year. Right now, the other mentor is Lysander. The younger ones aren't ready to mentor for this Quell, even if some of them want to. Maylene refuses to be involved in training after the last Quell… I also would have liked Zephyr because he's good at mentoring but after what happened at the end of last year's games, he's refused to step foot in the training center if Jory is there."

A couple of the victors start murmuring about this, clearly not knowing fully what went down with Jory, Zephyr, and Emilio, or if at all. Seraphim only knows from…his face starts heating up and he tries to push aside the thought, knowing this isn't the place for feelings to get in the way. Just look at what happened with Zephyr and Jory. He doesn't want to dwell on one District for too long, especially not this one, so he turns his attention to Matla. "What about you?"

Matla puts her glasses back on to look down at her papers for a moment before turning her attention back to Seraphim. "As a scientist, I'm very curious to find out how you're going to accomplish making the tributes lose one sense. I have a couple theories, but if you could show me…"

Seraphim shakes his head at this, noticing several other victors starting to become a lot more interested in the conversation. "I can't reveal that yet. But once the games have started, I would be happy to show you the Science Complex and introduce you to the scientists."

Matla nods her head as she takes off her glasses. She pinches the bridge of her nose before turning back to Seraphim, a look of contempt in her eyes. "As a decent human being, I think that's totally bullshit that you're going to take away one of their major senses and throw them into an arena to struggle to survive."

 _Ahh, there's the bad comments he's been waiting for._

Seraphim pushes up his own glasses as Laelia starts to write down notes next to him, but he stays focused on Matla, even as there are some grumbles of agreement among the other victors. "Matla, we cannot change what the Quarter Quell is." Matla purses her lips at this, but stays quiet, so Seraphim continues, this time looking around at the others as well. "But I can assure you all that we're not just throwing them in there with no help. There will be plenty of survival items available and not just at the Cornucopia."

"Any chance you'll tell us the arena?" Astrid speaks up from the opposite side of the table from Matla, propping her feet up on the table. She shrugs when she sees Seraphim look over, amusement on his face at her question. "That's what I figured, but I also figured why not ask?"

Seraphim lets out a quiet chuckle at Astrid being so bold, further establishing her as one of his favorite victors. "Well Matla, anything else?" She shakes her head, still not looking happy but Seraphim thinks he at least kept her somewhat calm by offering to show her their research lab. "Oh, who are you mentoring with? And I'm assuming everyone here is going to be a mentor and that's why you were sent as the victor representative for your District?"

Slowly, everyone nods their head in agreement, bringing Seraphim's attention back to Matla. "Isidore, who is going to be disappointed that Bronn isn't going to be there."

Kat simply shrugs at this and gives the victor next to her a small smirk. "Yeah, well, he got to train the last Quarter Quell victor, even if he didn't mentor for her in the Capitol. He doesn't get to do that twice."

Matla stays quiet at this comment, but her eyes show how much she doesn't want to see District Two claim another Quarter Quell victor. So Seraphim turns his attention to the District Four victor who has been relatively quiet and looks anxious about being here, hoping if he keeps things moving there won't be a fight. "Iona?

She smiles over at him, yet the smile never quite reaches her eyes. "I'm not exactly looking forward to a Quarter Quell, having seen in person what happened during the last one." She presses her lips together, staring down at the table for a moment before turning her gaze back to Seraphim and he can see all the doubt and concern there, surely for the fate of her training center. "We were so close last year…we can't have that happen again. Okeanas seems certain that the two of us can bring home a victor."

Fonio starts to laugh loudly at this, making Pinova jump in surprise and everyone turn their attention to the old man. He points over at Iona and then the other two career victors, still laughing. "Oh man, you're going to have Thetis, Kat, _and_ Okeanas in the same room?" He pauses to keep laughing at this thought, earning bizarre looks from a few others, including Seraphim. "That's going to be one hell of a good time. Oh how I love my fierce career queens."

"Too bad the feeling isn't mutual," Thetis retorts, completely serious yet her response sends Fonio into another fit of laughter, only making Seraphim even more curious to know what exactly went down between these two.

"Okay Iona," Seraphim raises his voice to be heard over Fonio's dying laughter. "Any other concerns?" The District Four victor looks for a moment like she wants to keep talking to him, but she glances at the others before shaking her head. But from the look in her eyes, Seraphim can tell she has more to say. "Alright. Well, Letha, you're up."

Poor Letha appears on the verge of tears as she looks around at all of the victors with her, almost refusing to look over at Seraphim. "I'm just so worried like always for my children. They're all of Reaping age…and to be put in a Quarter Quell where they might be blinded?" She shakes her head at this, trying to discretely wipe a tear away on her cheek before finally turning her attention to Seraphim. "You can't understand the fear a parent faces, not knowing if their child is going to be picked and sent off to possibly die."

Seraphim carefully considers how to respond to her, not wanting to upset her further, especially when he sees some of the concerned looks on the faces of the other victors. Surely if he upsets her more, he'll start a damn riot. "You're right, there's no way for me to understand that fear. I won't try to tell you that won't happen, because we all know that it's up to luck – Astrid, I see that look. I don't rig the Reapings, unlike my predecessors." Seraphim pauses to stare at her, making sure she knows that he's being truthful about this. That's one thing he refuses to do just for a bit more entertainment. Once she seems to believe him, he turns his attention back to Letha and tries to give her a comforting smile. "But please try to believe me when I genuinely say I hope that doesn't happen. I don't want any of you to have a loved one in the games. But if the unlikely happens, know that it was not intentional."

Letha gives him a small nod at this, yet still looks on the verge of tears. "But can you reassure me that the victor will have their sense fully restored?"

Seraphim is a little puzzled by the question, but at least it's something he can actually answer. "Yes, they will. That was one of President Xavier's requests when we developed our method."

Letha cracks a tiny smile at this, glancing down at her hands as she responds. "He's a good man. That's all I have to say. Oh and Galen is mentoring with me like usual. I need him there to help support me."

Seraphim nods at this as the room falls quiet except for the scratching of Laelia's pen as she takes notes. He doesn't know what else to say so he turns to the District Six victor. "Dampero?"

From the look on Dampero's face and the shrug he gives, Seraphim can just tell that he's going to have a problem. "Well…this isn't a personal attack on Skye – and don't get me wrong, I still wish she would have ended up as victor since she was Bristol's ally," he pauses at this to collect his thoughts, his face showing internal turmoil before he takes a deep breath to continue, "But I would say this about any District. Nine has an unfair advantage this year, having mentored a blind tribute last year."

Seraphim had a feeling this would be brought up eventually. He had tried to think through every complaint someone might make today. "The Quell twist was decided long before last year's games occurred."

"I understand that," Dampero retorts, shaking his head at the Gamemaker. "But that doesn't change the fact that District Nine has an unfair advantage over the rest of us."

"We don't even know if their tributes will be blind," Johan speaks up, drawing the attention of the victors to him as he has stayed out of the conversation until now. At their attention, he gives Seraphim a questioning look. "Do we?"

Seraphim shakes his head, feeling that this information is alright to share with them. "Not yet. It will be randomly picked once the tributes have been Reaped and we will make sure that there is an even distribution of the senses…" He trails off as he notices that Dampero still looks upset at this, along with Johan and Pinova. "However…if enough people are opposed to it, I suppose I could ensure that both District Nine tributes do not lose their sight. But that's not really fair to the rest if we're choosing that."

The silence that falls is uncomfortable, or at least it is to Seraphim. He doesn't really want to give that preferential treatment to District Nine, but he's also worried about starting a fight in here if he flat out refuses. After a minute of silence, the first one to speak up is a gentle voice, and Seraphim finds him happy that Letha is the one to address the issue. "If they end up with a blind tribute…" she starts quietly, looking around at each victor before continuing. "Then so be it. All of us would take that advantage if it was given to us."

Seraphim nods his head at this and looks around at the others, waiting for someone else to argue about it. But when everyone stays quiet, he turns his attention back to the District Six victor. "Anything else about that Dampero?"

"No…" Dampero sighs loudly and shakes his head at Seraphim. "Give them the advantage. I just wish that it was District Six instead with the advantage. It's just been so long since we had a victor. But…I guess this just means Jarle and I have to work even harder this year."

Dampero looks away from Seraphim, who takes this as a hint that he's done talking. So the Head Gamemaker turns his attention over to the District Seven victor who is picking at his nails and seemingly trying to pretend that everyone isn't looking at him. "Alright Glenwood, you're up."

Glenwood gives a small shrug at this before briefly looking at Seraphim before turning his gaze back to his hands. "I'm stressed about mentoring for a Quell. I just feel like there's so much pressure on me. That's all. And Stefan is mentoring with me."

The man next to Glenwood lets out a loud sigh at this and Glenwood looks up to see Dampero shaking his head at him. "Why Stefan? Couldn't you bring Laurel instead?"

"Oh stop," Letha speaks up on the other side of Dampero, a brief hint of amusement in her eyes. "Stefan is a nice man. You just don't like him because he was a bitter kid when you first met him."

Glenwood actually cracks a smile at Letha's comment before shrugging over at Dampero, leaving Seraphim curious to know more about the dynamics of these victors when they first won. "I agree, with both of you. But Laurel doesn't want to mentor another Quell, can't really blame her. And I would much rather bring Cal, but everyone agreed we should have someone more experienced and Stefan has the best record out of all of us in Seven." He pauses to give a shrug over at Seraphim. "That's all."

Seraphim turns his gaze to the District Eight victor, already amused by whatever she is going to say based on the fiery look in her eyes. And she doesn't wait for Seraphim to tell her to speak before pointing at all of the victors gathered. "You are so worried about this twist and not even realizing how much worse it could have been." Astrid starts counting off suggestions on her fingers, all the while staring intently at the victors. "There could be twice the children. There could be children younger than the normal age. There could have been adults picked with children. Hell, we could have to go in!" An uncomfortable silence falls on the group and all Seraphim can think about is what happened last time victors were forced into the arena. And he'll be damned if he lets something happen like that when he's Head Gamemaker.

Astrid shakes her head as she turns her sharp gaze to Seraphim and he understands how her tributes must feel. "Well I'm quite fine with this twist and I call bullshit on the Capitol actually being able to make people lose their senses."

"Astrid, I assure you, we have succeeded in that," Seraphim speaks up, feeling an intense need to defend his work. She just raises a single eyebrow at him, showing how much she believes him. "I've tried each one on myself and successfully lost the sense and gained it back."

Laelia clears her throat from next to Seraphim, the first time she has made any noise since the victors entered. Her face betrays her nervousness as the victors all turn their gaze towards her. "I can attest to that."

Astrid stares at the young Gamemaker for a few long seconds, making Seraphim want to defend her from the victor, before she finally gives a shrug and crosses her arms. "Whatever. I'm not worried about any crazy twists you might throw at us."

"Of course you aren't worried," Dampero shakes his head at Astrid, but the woman just keeps giving him a casual smile. "Why would you be worried when you just got home a victor?"

Astrid gives Dampero a shrug at this, still looking as relaxed as possible. "I would be this way with or without Clark. But yes, I am very happy that I have a new victor coming along with me this year."

"You're making Clark mentor this year?" Letha asks, her face in disbelief and concern for the youngest victor. "For a Quarter Quell? Can you imagine your first year as a mentor and you have to mentor a Quell?"

Once again, Seraphim is surrounded by uncomfortable silence as Astrid glares over at Letha – _Letha, of all people?_ – at her accusation. Finally, someone does speak up, clearing his throat and staring down at his lap uncomfortably as everyone looks over at him. "Laurel hated it so much, mentoring for a Quell her first year," Glenwood says quietly, finally looking up at Seraphim and giving a small shrug. "Then again, that Quell was…interesting for Seven. But still, she hated mentoring for a Quell and having our tributes place third and fourth."

Astrid stands up suddenly at this, her chair legs slamming on the ground from her leaning back in it and the sound makes a couple victors jump in surprise. "Let me make one thing clear," Astrid starts in a low, slow voice as she stares at each victor one by one, not flinching away from anyone's gaze. "I am _not_ throwing Clark into mentoring on his own. He is mentoring the same tribute as me, and Hessian is mentoring the other tribute."

"Oh sure, give Nine shit for having a victor who unsuccessfully mentored a blind tribute last year," Fonio speaks up, ignoring the glare from Astrid. "But no one will call out Astrid for having a previous Quarter Quell victor? Or what about Kat? I'm sure she's asking Glacia all sorts of strategy questions."

"I am not," Kat defensively says right away as Astrid sits back down, glaring over at Fonio next to her. Seraphim lets out a small sigh, starting to get a gut feeling that everything is about to go downhill now that Fonio is speaking up. "Glacia hates mentoring for the actual games and she's too busy working on applying for university. Although she did say she would possibly mentor, that isn't happen because Darach flat out told me that he'll quit being a trainer if I ask Glacia one question about Quarter Quells."

"Wow, someone who isn't afraid to stand up to you Kat?" Fonio lets out a laugh at this, shaking his head as the District Two victor gives him a harsh glare. "Well since we're talking about 'unfair advantages'," Fonio uses his hands to make air quotes at this. "I'll be mentoring with Mazie. Please, don't hold back on your excitement at that," Fonio says sarcastically before looking at the others, smiling and waiting for someone to tell him that they can't wait. But when everyone stays quiet, he shakes his head and turns back to Seraphim. "Sativa couldn't take it this year. So I offered to help out and mentor again, out of the kindness of my heart."

Astrid lets out a snort at this and Seraphim tries to ignore the pretend hurt look on Fonio's face. "But what's your opinion on the Quell twist?"

"It makes things more interesting," Fonio shrugs at this and chuckles a little before continuing, "The others aren't as happy. Sativa said that 'You motherfuckers gave Skye a low score last year for being blind and now you're glorifying it for a Quarter Quell'."

Seraphim is shocked by the statement, even if he had been expecting at least a few to be angry about it. "Did she really say that?"

"No," Fonio bursts out into laughter at Seraphim's face and a few others roll their eyes at Fonio. "I may have changed it a bit. But she's not happy. No one in Nine is happy about this twist."

Seraphim sighs at this, having had a feeling that District Nine wouldn't be pleased by it. But there's not much he can do about it. The 149th Hunger Games are in the past and he can't change the Quell twist. "Sorry to hear that, Fonio…Johan?"

The old victor from Ten lets out a heavy sigh at this, taking off his glasses to pinch the bridge of his nose as he forms his answer. When he finally looks at Seraphim, his eyes are heavy from all of this. "I've seen two Quarter Quells in my life. I'm hoping that will help me be a better mentor…but with this twist? I don't know how much help I can be. The Fifth Quarter Quell didn't really change up our mentoring style since they just couldn't volunteer – not that we have very many of those in Ten. The Fourth Quarter Quell," Johan shakes his head at this, a brief glimpse of fear passing over his face before he continues, "I'm just glad I wasn't a mentor then."

Johan looks around, taking the time to look at each victor. "This year it will be myself and Pigmy, as usual. And I think everyone should have someone mentor who has at least lived through the Fifth Quarter Quell. Those around then know what tricks Lisia Arune pulled…" His gaze finally makes its way to Seraphim and he gives a small shrug at the Head Gamemaker. "And maybe we can better anticipate whatever tricks you'll pull."

"I hope not," Seraphim answers without thinking, really hoping that no one is going to guess the arena twist he has in place. When a couple of them send glares his way, he grimaces and quickly tries to turn the attention back to the victors. "Pinova?"

The youngest victor here – but no longer the youngest out of all of them, thanks to Clark's victory last year – stares down at the table with tears filling her eyes. "This has just made me realize how unprepared Eleven is." She picks up her head to look over at Johan next to her, and the man puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You're right that everyone should have a mentor who won before the last Quell. But that's hard for Eleven to do. Kanzi refuses to let Garia mentor again and…I'm with her. Garia had to be alone for too many years. She deserves it, even if Kanzi and I might be at a disadvantage compared to the rest of you."

Pinova falls quiet and Seraphim looks around at the others to see how they feel about this. Some don't really see to upset, particularly the career women. A few look saddened, but still, they don't speak up to help. Not when helping Pinova means taking away from their District's chance of victory. So Seraphim turns his attention back to Pinova and smiles at her, "Do you have any question about the Quell twist that I can answer now?"

"I…" Pinova hesitates, trying to figure out her question to Seraphim. "I guess…how are you picking who loses which sense?"

"As I mentioned before, it's going to be a random process," Seraphim says and pauses when he notices a majority of the victors all start paying closer attention at that. "To make sure it's fair and there aren't any imbalance in the senses – like say, all the careers being blinded or all outer District tributes losing their hearing – we will check afterwards and make small changes. And each sense will have as close to an even distribution as you can get splitting up 22 tributes into five groups."

Seraphim looks around at the victors after this, waiting to see if there will be any other comments or complaints from them. To his surprise, they're staying quiet, seemingly having all the answers they want from him right now. "If there aren't any additional questions…well, thank you all for taking the time to come out to the Capitol for this. I want to reassure you again that we're being as fair as possible with selecting the senses lost and the victor _will_ regain full control. And…I've been working on this for a long time now. I'm really looking forward to see what happens in this Quarter Quell." Quite a few faces show that they're not in agreement about this, but what can he do? "Well, this meeting is adjourned then."

Serephim watches the victors carefully as they start standing up, almost waiting to see if some of them are going to start throwing punches. But slowly they start to leave, in similar groups as they arrived, the first one to slip out being Glen, and the last one as stubborn Fonio who turns back to wink at Seraphim. "Any chance I can get some arena information out of you later tonight?"

"Go!" Seraphim lets out an exasperated sigh as Fonio just laughs at him, throwing a flirty smile in his direction before finally leaving. When the room is cleared of victors, Seraphim lets out a heavy sigh of exhaustion. The last few months of planning have started to take its toll on him, regardless of if this is his greatest accomplishment. "Well that went better than I expected."

"Yeah," Laelia says quietly in agreement and Seraphim glances over to see her nodding her head. "No real arguments."

"And I didn't get thrown onto a table," Seraphim chuckles when he sees Laelia's reaction to this. He stands up, giving a small wave to brush off the topic. "That's a story for when this craziness is over. For now, can you come with me? I have something to ask you."

* * *

 **Alright, so maybe this ended up way longer than I intended. But what can I say, I love my victors and Seraphim. Plus, this was like the greatest hits of my mentors across my other stories. So there's our first sneak peek at who will be mentoring this year! And we also have some (but not all) questions answered about the Quell. Next chapter we're going to see some more information regarding _how_ the senses are going to be lost!**

 **So who was your favorite mentor in this section? And any guesses on what Seraphim is going to ask Laelia to do?**

 **Submissions are still open for another two weeks! I'll be closing the submission form on July 15th so then I have a week to figure out which tributes are accepted! I just want to say a big thank you for how much love you've been showing this story so far. I have received so many submissions in just a week since this story went up and I feel very honored by how many people have submitted. I'm going to do my very best to get as many people involved in the story as possible! Right now, the male tributes could definitely use some love. And I'll be accepting two submissions per person for now, this may change as we get closer, depending on how many submissions there are around this time next week!**

 **Once again, thank you so much for the love you're showing this story! Oh not sure if I mentioned it last time, but I'm doing the sponsor point system again like I did with Overlooked! You can receive points for reviewing, favoriting, and/or following any of the following stories: Senseless, Overlooked, Wayward, Hysteria, and the two Fifth Quarter Quell stories. Trust me, you're going to want the points ;)**

 **Alrighty, I'll see you July 8th for the next prologue and then on July 22nd the final prologue and tribute list will go up!**


	3. Logistics

**Prologue 3:**

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

"So what did you think about that?" Seraphim turns to look back at Laelia as they enter is surprisingly organized office, only thanks to the person he owes his life to. If not for Ophelia, well…he wouldn't get anything done.

"That was something else," Laelia lets out a laugh at his question as she shuts the door quietly behind them. She watches him move to his seat behind his desk and plops down. He throws his glasses on his desk and pinches his nose, feeling the exhaustion of planning a Quell catching up with him. "Are you alright, sir?"

"Yeah," Seraphim answers quietly and picks up his glasses so he can better see Laelia as she sits down across from him. She nervously starts glancing at her hands, still somewhat the shy girl that started four years ago as a Gamemaker. She's already come a long way since then and Seraphim is hoping to get her to go even farther in her career. She's already stepped up to take over as the leader in designing the arena after the Gregorio fiasco at the end of last year's games. "Just a bit exhausted by this. We're only a little over two months away."

"You're doing really well though with handling everything," Laelia answers softly, giving him a small encouraging smile.

Seraphim returns the smile to her, hoping to help bring up her confidence some more. He needs her to be more confident. He needs someone he can absolutely trust. "I wouldn't be able to do it without you guys. You, Magnus, Althea, _especially_ Ophelia."

Laelia's smile grows at that, along with a small blush at his praise. "It's been nothing… After what you went through, I'm happy to help you out as much as I can."

Seraphim lets out a small laugh at her comment, knowing he's about to ask her to do a lot more than necessary. "Speaking of…" Her face starts to pale at his comment and he quickly tries to reassure her that she's not in trouble. "I have something I need to ask you to do."

"Anything," Laelia responds right away, not even the slightest hint in her voice that she's not being genuine.

Seraphim doesn't know what he did to get a Gamemaker who believes in him so much, but after everything he went through last year… He's so glad to have her. "I need you to go to each tribute before the chariot rides begin and ensure they have been given the nanobots to take out their senses in the games."

Laelia's eyes widen in shock at this and points at her chest in disbelief. "Me?" She asks and Seraphim nods his head, trying to fight off the smile at her confusion. One of these days he'll get her to have some faith in her capabilities. "Why me?"

"Because I trust you," Seraphim responds simply and honestly. But when Laelia is still looking at him in disbelief, he continues, "I really do trust you. There were only three people I thought about asking, but you were my top choice."

"Yes, but why _me_?"

Seraphim studies her for a few seconds, trying to figure out if maybe he picked the wrong person for this with how nervous she is. But there's a spark of determination in her eyes that has him certain that Laelia is the right choice. "Because, Laelia, at some point I'm going to retire – don't worry, that's not for at least another ten years, assuming no one tries to shoot me again," he pauses to chuckle a little at how her face paled at the mention of Seraphim getting shot once more. He has to laugh about it. It's that or live in constant fear over it, and he's done worrying about what might happen and focused on now. "My point is…someone is going to need to take over as the Head Gamemaker someday. I want to start training that person now… I want that person to be _you_."

Laelia sits up straight at this, her face showing just how honored she is by what he said. "I'm not going to let you down."

"I never thought you would," Seraphim answers with a smile, before relaxing in his chair once more. He glances at his watch and shakes his head in disbelief at the time. "11:39 already? Where has the morning gone?"

"It's gone by talking to victors," Laelia answers him with a small shrug. "I thought you were used to that from talking to Zephyr all the time."

Seraphim can feel his face heating up immediately at the comment, only making Laelia start grinning and wiggling her eyebrows at him. "I do not talk to him all the time!"

Laelia just gives him a look that says she knows this isn't true. "Yeah? Pull up your list of recent calls and I bet they're all Zephyr."

"They're not all him…" Seraphim answers quietly, knowing his face must be very red in embarrassment right now. Not that he has any reason to think Laelia will judge him for it. He's just a little embarrassed about how obvious it is to everyone else that he's so crazy about the guy. "I haven't been able to talk to him as much lately with the Quell getting so close…"

His phone takes the opportunity to ring then at the worst possible time and Laelia just raises her eyebrows at him as he grabs it. "Hi _Ophelia_ ," he emphasizes, making sure Laelia knows it isn't Zephyr calling him. Although he wishes it was the victor calling him…

"Seraphim, you have a visitor," Ophelia says pointedly, never one to put up with him delaying things.

But he lets out a heavy sigh at this, not wanting to talk to anyone. He just wanted to have some lunch with Laelia and not actually work during it. "Who is it this time? I don't want to talk to anyone. Can you come up with an excuse?"

"Not even for an old friend?" A second voice speaks up and Seraphim nearly drops his phone in surprise.

"Ophelia, you really need to tell me next time that you're on speaker before I say something really bad," Seraphim shakes his head as Laelia watches him curiously. "Of course I'll see Lisia, you should have told me it was her right away."

"Good, we're right outside your office," Ophelia responds and before Seraphim can say anything, the door opens and his assistant steps in with his old friend and mentor.

"Lisia," Seraphim jumps up from his chair and immediately goes over to the old Head Gamemaker to give her a hug. "It's good to see you again. You haven't changed at all."

"Oh shush," Lisia rolls her eyes at him as they walk back over to his desk, one that formally belonged to Lisia up until only four years ago. Laelia jumps up at Lisia approaching her and holds out her hand, staring in awestruck. "Laelia, right? Seraphim's talked about you."

"He has?" Laelia glances over at Seraphim, clearly nervous about whatever he might have said to Lisia.

"Only good things," Seraphim answers as he offers his chair to Lisia, who shakes her head at him and instead sits on the corner of his desk. He sits back down, smiling up at his old mentor. "It's good to see you again."

"You as well," Lisia smiles down at him before looking around at the office, raising an eyebrow in surprise at it. "You don't seem to be freaking out as much about the Quell starting as I was at this point."

"Don't worry, he is," Ophelia scoffs at this and shakes her head, barely glancing up from her tablet as she does whatever it is she does to keep him on track. "It's only thanks to me he doesn't lose track of everything."

Lisia laughs at this and Seraphim just gives a small shrug, knowing it's all true. "You have a good friend. Now, while I'm happy to see you, we both know that you have a limited amount of time these days for pleasantries."

"I…yes, you're right," Seraphim decides to answer honestly, knowing he can't lie to Lisia. Not when she went through the same thing 25 years ago. "Things are very busy. I've barely even had time to talk to anyone outside of here. I wouldn't be surprised if my mom shows up one day just to make sure I'm still alive."

The former Head Gamemaker nods her head at this, a look of understanding in her eyes. "Yes, I know. That's why I won't bore you with that. I came here to give you some advice. I trust you to do a great job with these games, but I realized that I should tell you what to do and what not to do. Things I learned from doing this myself and wish I would have learned before the Quell. Except I didn't really have the greatest mentor to share that information with me…"

"Please share," Seraphim answers quickly as he starts pulling open drawers to find some pen and paper to write this down. Laelia offers him her notebook and he gratefully takes it, having to pause for a moment at some of her comments from the meeting with the victors before flipping to a blank page.

' _Astrid could slay me any day.'_

Seraphim chooses not to mention it now to save Laelia from the embarrassment, but covers up a small laugh with a cough before turning his attention back to Lisia. "Please tell me anything and everything."

"My one regret is not making it a bigger event," Lisia says with a sigh and Seraphim finds himself disagreeing at this. He may have been just a kid at the time, but he remembers the last Quell. It was the biggest event he's ever seen in the Capitol. He hopes he can even come close to that. Lisia starts counting off things on her fingers, "Don't let it be too short just because you're afraid of leaving the crowd without any action. Make there be a theme across the arena and pre-games events."

"Already doing that," Seraphim answers proudly, getting a smile of approval from Lisia. That was one of the first things he insisted on when he started the design of the arena, all because of what Lisia did in the Fifth Quarter Quell. "I learned that one already from you."

"Good," Lisia nods her head and puts up another finger, "Make this be the biggest event the Capitol has ever seen. Even bigger than my Quell."

"How do I do that?" Seraphim asks, a little in disbelief that he might be able to top the excitement from the Fifth Quarter Quell. Lisia's arena still tops the lists each year in the Capitol as most exciting arenas. Hell, even _Magnus_ won't stop talking about the mutts that she created that year. And the victor, well…Glacia is also topping the lists of best victors.

Lisia gets that devious smirk on her face, the one she always has when she's come up with a clever idea. Before, that look used to terrifying Seraphim. But now? Now he can't wait to see what her idea is. "Really give the Capitol the chance to get to know the tributes. Let them talk to tributes and really start rooting for every single one of them. If you get them all supporting the tributes, not just the rich ones that can afford to sponsor them, they won't be able to stop talking about this Quell for years. The twist alone is enough to keep them interested. Don't lose that focus."

"And how do you suggest doing that?" Seraphim asks her, knowing from the look in her eyes that she has an answer already.

Sure enough, she starts smirking at him, taking her time in answering to build up tension. "You're going to give them the opportunity to talk to the Capitol crowds the night before the games start. You're going to host a party and luckily for you, I already talked to our dear second father Mendalius about it and gotten approval."

* * *

 **Alrighty just another short prologue to set up some more stuff for the story! So yes, we're going to have a big party right before the games start! This idea comes from the awesome Celtic who first did it in Danzon and I getting to see the tributes all having fun. So I knew it would have to be a part of this story :)**

 **And we also got to see a blast from the past! Those reading Wayward or the Fifth Quarter Quell stories will definitely recognize Lisia. What do you think about the other suggestions to Seraphim? Any early guesses on what the theme might be that stretches across the arena and pre-games stuff? There's no hints yet lol, I just want to see if anyone might come close with guesses.**

 **IMPORTANT! There is only one more week until submissions close! I'll be closing the form on July 15th at 9 pm EST so make sure you have your tributes in by then! The boys and a couple other spots can use some love! I have been keeping submission statistics updated on my profile! I am completely blown away by the love this story has received so far and then number of submissions already!**

 **Okay there will be one last prologue going up on July 22nd with the full tribute list! We're going to have some spicy subplot stuff so I'll see you then!**


	4. Escape

**Prologue 4:**

 _One Month Before The Quell_

 _Khaya Christian, 22, Capitol Prisoner_

Khaya would have been dreading this day, but she just no longer could form any energy to care about the simplest things. She could barely get the energy to pull herself from bed or eat the bland small proportions of food they give her three times a day.

She's a failure. She betrayed the rebels and deserves to be rotting in prison for life.

She had one job to do in the Capitol. _One job and she couldn't even do that right._ No, Seraphim Lukianas is still living, Velmour is still dead, and Khaya is still in prison.

At least the torture has stopped. Khaya thought when she was first sent to the Capitol that she could handle the pain they would give her. She knew it was a high possibility, seeing as she was sent here to kill the Head Gamemaker. But the hell they put her through…day after day of slow and painful torture combined with truth serum… They got so many rebel secrets out of her and there was nothing she could do but scream and curse them, unable to hold her tongue.

But…she didn't tell them everything. Only what they had asked about the rebel involvement in the 149th Hunger Games. They didn't ask her about what they have planned for the Quell.

That is her one little shimmer of hope among the depressing blank walls of the prison and Peacekeepers who are too quick to strike the prisoners if they don't obey them fast enough. She kept the biggest rebel secret from the Capitol and she will gladly take that to her grave.

Not that she has any idea when that will be. Probably soon with today's move. Finally deemed no longer critical for information, it's time for her to be moved out to the prison in the wilds. Everyone has heard rumor about the place. Only the absolutely worst people in Panem get sent there…the serial killers, the pedophiles, the traitors…

She wasn't one of those. She was just a girl who was willing to fight for a better future for Panem. A future where children don't have to live in fear of being sent to their death for the Capitol's entertainment.

If that makes her a traitor in the eyes of the Capitol, she'll proudly wear that label.

"Khaya Christian, stand up."

 _Time to see her new home._

Khaya slowly stands up, cringing at the pain from all the bruises scattering her back from getting hit repeatedly by the baton from Peacekeepers. She faces the five guards at her door, dressed in an all black version of the normal Peacekeeper attire, and does her best to keep her face neutral. Any slight sign of disobedience will surely earn her their punishment.

"Stand back from the door," the one who seems to be in charge orders her and she finds herself hesitating as she stares at them. That voice…no. Surely she's just imagining that she recognizes the man under the mask. She shouldn't get her hopes up. "Stand back!"

Khaya cringes and immediately takes a step back from the door so they can open her cell. The main guard steps in, placing handcuffs on her immediately. But she notices right away that they're not on as tightly as usual. If she tried hard enough, surely she could slip them off…but where is she supposed to go when anywhere she runs she'll just find guards?

"Time for you to be relocated," the main guard puts a hand on her back, forcing her to start walking out of her cell. Once in the hallways lined with other cells, she's surrounded by the five guards, which seems a little excessive for her.

One of the prisoners across from her starts laughing when he sees her walking by with the guards. "Have fun rotting in that hell."

Khaya has enough energy to flip off Gregorio for the comment. If the former Gamemaker wasn't from the Capitol, Khaya has no doubt he would have been sent to the same prison as her. But seeing him without his precious Capitolite makeup and forced to look like a normal, almost even ugly person gives her just a bit of satisfaction. "Don't worry, I'll keep a spot warm for you for whenever you get sent out there."

"Keep quiet, prisoner!" One of the guards yells at her, lightly tapping her on the back with his baton to keep moving. "Speak again and you'll never get to see the frost on the plains at the prison."

Khaya stumbles at this, recognizing the phrase… It can't be… No guard from the Capitol would have said the phrase 'frost on the plains'. Khaya has to bite her cheek to keep from smiling at this as they step onto the elevator, all of them barely fitting into the tight space.

That was a rebel phrase. She had thought the rebels had abandoned her after she was imprisoned last year. But she wasn't abandoned. _'Help is here.'_

The doors open at the hanger for the hovercrafts and as they step out, Khaya still being led by the guards, she starts scanning the room carefully now that she knows she's in the middle of a rescue mission. Right away she's intimidated by the sheer amount of guards in the hanger. How are they supposed to get out of here alive?

But they must have a plan, otherwise they never would have attempted this mission. As hard as it is for Khaya to sit back…she has to trust them.

She's led to a gateway before the actual hovercrafts and the group of rebels is stopped by another guard there. "Papers showing authorization to remove this prisoner."

"Here you go," the main guard in her entourage hands the other a piece of paper and Khaya can't help but feel like she recognizes the voice. But the damn mask is muffling his voice, making it impossible for her weakened brain to pinpoint it.

Khaya watches the real guard studying over the paper for what seems like an extended time before finally stamping it and handing it back to her rebel guard. "Bay C, hovercraft 31."

Once more, Khaya is led away by her group, yet she can't stop the anxious feeling inside of her as they start heading towards the far wall of the hanger. She glances back at the guard that authorized their access, finding him watching them carefully as he talks into a handheld device. "They know," Khaya whispers as she turns back to face where she's walking.

"We're fine," the male whispers back to her, yet despite what he said, they pick up their pace. Their hovercraft just seems to be so far away still. "You all know the mission. We do whatever it takes to get Khaya back to Seven."

The other four all give their agreement to this and Khaya starts nervously fiddling with her handcuffs, hoping to be able to slide them off if she gets a sign that things are going wrong.

"We're almost there," the man reassures them as they get within 50 yards of the hovercraft assigned to them.

Khaya snaps her head over at him, finally recognizing the voice of her friend and former trainee. "Cedar Martinez, who actually put you in charge of such an important mission?"

"Your father," Cedar answers, making Khaya start slowly smiling at that information. Her father didn't give up on her…

"Stop!"

"Go!" Cedar shouts and grabs on to Khaya's arm, making her stumble on her feet as he starts running and drags her along. Three of their rebels stay back, turning to start shooting at the large group of Peacekeepers racing towards them. The fourth races ahead to the hovercraft, slamming the button to open up the back hatch. Khaya turns back when she hears a scream, seeing one of their own collapsing to the ground. "Khaya, keep moving!"

"Let's go!" The rebel at the hovercraft yells and motions for them to race on as Khaya and Cedar reach the craft. Cedar pushes Khaya on and into the safety of the craft as the other rebel races past her and towards the flight deck.

Cedar turns back to shoot at the Peacekeepers and Khaya glances past him, trying to see if anyone else in their group is coming. But all three are dead on the ground, making a pit of guilt grow in Khaya's stomach. Even if they all know what they signed up for when they joined the rebels, they still died for her… "We have to leave, Ashla!"

Khaya can hear the hovercraft starting to lift up from the ground as the Peacekeepers get closer. Cedar presses the button to close the door as they start flying away before moving to stand in front of Khaya, protecting her as the guards try to shoot at them.

Cedar gasps just before the door is fully shut and Khaya tries to catch him as he starts to fall backwards, but her arms are too weak and she only slows his fall. He hits the hard ground of the hovercraft and Khaya tries not to stare at the hole in the front of his armor with blood starting to seep out of it. She shakily takes off his helmet, wanting to actually see her friend for what could possibly be the last time. "Ashla! Help me, he was hit!"

"I can't," Ashla shouts back, the pain evident in her voice as Khaya starts ripping off the armor as Cedar starts shakily breathing in pain, still staring up at Khaya. "We have crafts following us and I can't go on autopilot until I know we're no longer being followed."

"Damn it," Khaya yells at this before getting the chest piece of armor off and sees the wound. She presses her hands against his chest, knowing that unless they get him to a doctor in the next half hour, he's done for. The armor might have bought him a bit of time, but that bullet is still in his chest. "Cedar, you're not allowed to die on me."

"I hate to break it to you, but I think I am," Cedar mutters, letting out a small laugh before groaning in pain from the bullet in his chest. The boy – well, he's an adult now, but just barely, and he'll always be a kid to her – stares up at her, starting to smile a little despite the tears forming in his eyes. "At least I was able to get you out of there alive."

"Cedar," Khaya whispers, feeling her own eyes watering up at the sight of her best friend dying right in front of her and there's nothing she can do to stop it. "Please don't die on me."

"Khaya," Cedar says softly, barely shaking his head as tears start falling down the sides of his face. "I fucked up."

"Yeah, you got _shot_ ," Khaya answers, hoping a little that if she jokes with him, she can pretend that he isn't dying.

"No, not that," Cedar responds to her, his voice starting to shake from the pain. He gasps for air and Khaya shakes her head at him, refusing to believe this is happening. "Khaya… Protect him."

"Who?" Khaya asks in confusion, having no clue who he's talking about. She's spent years in the Capitol now and doesn't know what's happening back in Seven.

"My…" Cedar starts coughing, the pain on his face growing even more evident with the spasms to his chest. "M-my child."

Khaya stares down at him in shock, wondering what the hell she has missed since she has left District Seven that Cedar now has a child. "I want to be brave," Cedar chokes out through tears, still staring up at Khaya. He grabs on to her hand feebly, "I don't want to die."

"You're not going to die," Khaya says stubbornly, still in complete disbelief at everything.

"Promise me," Cedar whispers as his voice grows even weaker and Khaya can just tell there's nothing she can do. He's about to die right in front of her. "Promise me, Khaya."

Khaya blinks back her own tears and stares down at her bloody hands on Cedar's chest, trying to process everything happening. But when she turns her gaze back up to Cedar, she knows that she would do anything for him. She'll find his child and she will protect him from Hunger Games. "I promise. I promise I will end the games and keep your child safe."

* * *

 **I know this is what you're all waiting to see (or you scrolled down here first to see lol) so here we go, the tributes:**

District One:

Major Emerson-Ness, 18 – _CelticGames4_

Anastacia Astoria, 18 – _SinfonianLegend_

District Two:

Odyssey Gunderson, 18 – _HogwartsDreamer113_

Bellona Silvanus, 18 – _mistycharming_

District Three:

Calvin Tailor, 18 – _4everlark_

Amelia Fensa, 18 – _later. glader_

District Four:

Demarcus Pollock, 18 – _AmericanPi_

Delta Zale, 17 – _goldie031_

District Five:

Davy Emmerich, 14 – _HogwartsDreamer113_

Eva Orville-Wright, 18 – _Mukkou_

District Six:

Elias Pilkvist, 17 – _Little Knight Mik_

Courtney Cassini, 16 - _Platrium_

District Seven:

Adam Vignola, 18 – _goldie031_

Carameuse Juniper, 17 - _TheAmazingJAJ_

District Eight:

Fete Bayard, 18 – _Little Knight Mik_

Atropa Seigal, 17 – _OfficialBengy_

District Nine:

Eliot Eidner, 13 – _basicgay_

Sky Odum, 13 – _david12341_

District Ten:

Fox Durham, 18 – _paperairline_

Genesis Barrett, 17 – _Golden Moon Huntress_

District Eleven:

Arthur Bramble, 17 – _GalacticCoach_

Jessamine Briggs, 14 – _EllaRoseEverdeen_

 **Picking the list was honestly a really tough decision. I had a total of 43 (!) submissions for this story and I am absolutely humbled and amazed by all the love you have shown this story. And I am very sorry if I could not accept your tribute. I had to choose the tributes that I was going to be able to write well and they would add to the plot. If you want to know specifically why I did not select your tribute and how to improve the form, please send me a PM and I will be happy to let you know. And if your tribute wasn't accept, I strongly encourage you to submit them again, particularly to some new authors who might be struggling to fill up their list. There are a lot of authors who can use submissions and you can check out the SYOT Alliance Forum for advertisements or PM me and I can give you some suggestions.**

 **Well, there we have our list! I'm super excited to get started with this story and for you to meet everyone! Also, the story blog is now live! The link is thesixthquarterquell . weebly . com (remove the spaces!) and there's a ton of information up! Escort info will be up soon as I'm waiting on one submission!**

 **And now we have a little hint of the subplot for this story! Any guesses as to what the rebels are planning? I'm really excited for what I have planned!**

 **Alrighty, hopefully the next update will be within two weeks of this one! I am starting to get to a bit of a busier time right now so I'm hoping I can keep up this update schedule. I'll be going in District order for the intro so I'll see you in District One!**


	5. District 1: Motivation

**Trigger warning: There are mentions of suicide in this chapter. Please skip this chapter if that will harm you in any way and let me know so I can give you a summary of what happen.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1:**

 _District One_

 _Major Emerson-Ness, 18_

 _Four and a half years ago_

Major couldn't help but feel a little nervous about today as the training academy comes into sight. He's been working towards the preliminary exam today for months, so much planning and training to make sure things end up in his favor. Everyone has constantly looked down on him, told him that the cute little boy that loves to dance can't _possibly_ end up as the volunteer someday. There's no way he can be tough enough to beat out the others. So many people have insisted that he'll fail and he can't _stand_ it.

Well, his parents did not raise him to get second place to volunteer. He refuses to be the third member of their family to do that. So he's going to show them all today that they shouldn't underestimate him.

"I'll admit, I'm a little nervous," Major lets out a small chuckle as he turns to look over at the person walking with him, noticing the anxiety in Pad's eyes. Major stops walking right away, frowning about this and placing what he hopes is a comforting hand on their shoulder. "Hey, are you alright?"

"No," Pad shakes their head at this question, almost looking on the verge of tears. Major pulls them over to the grass so they don't block the sidewalk, looking at some of the other trainees passing and giving them sweet smiles that most of them return. "I'm so worried about today. I have to do well… I can't go back home to my parents and face them if I fail."

"You're going to great," Major encourages them, squeezing their shoulder before giving it a couple pats. "And if today doesn't go great, you know you can keep staying with me. I'll look out for you!"

Pad lets out a loud sigh at this, but their shoulders visibly relax at Major's reassurance, only making him starting grinning even more. "Thank you for being my friend… I know you didn't have to because we're competing against the same spot to volunteer someday. But…the others are just so terrible. It's nice to have one kind person there."

Major doesn't let his smile falter at this, knowing _exactly_ what the people are like in training… "Of course! Everyone needs at least one person to count on! Now come on, friend," Major pauses when Pad smiles at being called his friend, feeling a little guilty for what he has to do during the preliminary exam. But he has to win. He can't let anyone else take his spot to volunteer years from now. "We have to go prove ourselves."

The anxiety is back in Pad's eyes – not that it ever really left – but subdued a little thanks to Major's reassurance. Just what he wanted. Pad nods their head and they start walking once more, picking up their pace to make sure they aren't late for the exam. That would be a sure way to get kicked out before even getting a chance to prove themselves. "So who do you think is going to end up as the female tribute someday?" Major asks Pad, trying to keep the conversation light.

Major glances over, seeing a small smile forming on Pad's face at the question as they approach the doors into the academy. "I have faith in Anastacia. I…want to believe that she can keep up being at the top. I know I won't be with her but at least that means I can be at home rooting for her."

"You don't know that for sure!" Major answers, but he does know for sure that the volunteer won't be Pad. Not with how their training has slacked. And of course, that spot will go to Major. As for Anastacia, well, Major doesn't want to really get to know whoever will someday volunteer with him as he doesn't want any chance of growing attached to them…but, he still has made sure to know all the other top competitors to make sure he'll be able to work with them. The last thing he wants is to have his District partner betray him. "As for the other volunteer, who knows?" Major shrugs as he opens the door, gesturing for Pad to go in first. Pad anxiously stares inside the building, staying put so Major puts a comforting hand on their shoulder. "You're going to do great!"

"I don't want to face the others," Pad nervously whispers, finally looking away from inside the building to face Major. "They're so terrible."

"I'm going to stay by your side," Major tries his best to comfort Pad, but he's starting to reach the point of not knowing what more he can do to help them. But Pad can still help him, so he gives them another encouraging smile. "I won't let them bully you."

Pad lets out a heavy sigh at this before finally nodding their head. "Thank you… I'm really glad to have you as a friend."

Major grins at this as Pad enters the training academy and he follows after him. Pad stays quiet as they walk towards the small gym, but again hesitates in the doorway. Major gives them an encouraging smile but keeps walking in, knowing he needs to start focusing on today. There's been rumors traveling around that the trainers want to make a significant cut to their numbers today and Major refuses to be part of that. Not that he's really in danger of it, given his solid placement of second.

Major glares over at Shard Halloran, the boy that keeps beating out Major for the number one spot. No matter what Major does, he just can never beat him in a fight, and it drives him crazy. Depending on how today goes, well, Major just might have to reevaluate if he'll be able to beat him on sheer strength alone.

"Oh look who actually decided to show up today."

Major ignores the boy as he sets down his stuff before turning to face Julian, the third place trainee, fully expecting his comment to be directed at Major. It's nothing he hasn't dealt with before and he always happily proves Julian wrong. But the boy's gaze is on Pad who looks down and tries to ignore him, but their hands are shaking as they start getting things out of his worn out bag.

"I'm surprised you haven't given up yet with how shitty your scores are," Julian continues and Major shakes his head at this, even if he knows that he's speaking the truth about Pad. But Major would never say that directly to Pad. "But don't worry, after today the trainers will make the decision for you."

"Hey Julian!" Shard calls over to him and the three of them look over – well, Major kind of glares – at him as he walks over, towering over the others. "Stop it. I know you're stressed about it, but don't take it out on Pad."

Major hates the way Pad looks grateful at Shard stepping in, knowing that he should have been the one to defend Pad. And he would have, anything to make sure Pad continues to trust him. But he mostly just doesn't like Shard beating him at something else.

Major almost hopes that Julian won't listen to Shard, but sure enough, the boy gives them a sneer before turning to return to his friend. Major shakes his head at Julian's retreating form, knowing that he's only jealous that Major is better than him. Pad looks on the verge of tears and Major holds back a look showing how much he doesn't like putting up with people crying. "He's right," Pad mutters and turns their gaze away from Major to resume gathering stuff out of their bag. They sniffle and discreetly wipe at their eyes, leaving Major standing there and just not knowing anymore what to say to them. Julian isn't _wrong._

Luckily, someone speaks up to get their attention to start the exam. Or maybe not so lucky for Major when he realizes who it is.

"Alright everyone, listen up!" Emilio Signe calls out to the group, waiting for the kids to quickly quiet down. Of course they all listen to the victor right away, it's no secret that Emilio is one of District One's favorites. Well…to everyone but Major and his family. "Today is a very important day as you'll be taking your preliminary exam. Now we normally wait until you are fifteen for this exam, but since you are part of the age group that will be volunteering for the Sixth Quarter Quell," Emilio has to pause as there's whispers of excitement at this and Major finds his heart beating faster in excitement at that thought. It's one thing to win the Hunger Games in a normal year. But a Quarter Quell? That would be the ultimate honor. "Thetis has decided to move the preliminary exam to now. That way we can focus on a smaller group for a longer time and make sure we stop District Two from claiming another Quarter Quell victory. Because none of us want to see that, am I right?"

Most of the trainees all shout about how little they want to see that happen, but Major keeps quiet, trying to hold back his annoyance at the group acting so barbaric about this. Yeah, Major doesn't want to see them win since he'll be in the Quell, but he doesn't need to show that by yelling.

Emilio chuckles as the group quiets down, shaking his head at them before looking around at them carefully. "Take this seriously as we will cut your numbers in half." This time, he's met with nervous whispers but Major just keeps watching Emilio, picking up his foot and grabbing his ankle to start stretching the muscles in his thighs. He doesn't have any concern about being among the twenty being eliminated today. "You will be tested in four areas: hand-to-hand combat, weapons, strategy, and stamina. We will assess your skills in each and provide a ranking. You have a half hour to prepare."

Most of the trainees start talking excitedly at this, but Major focuses on what he needs to do today. He's been working for a while to do this and he isn't going to fail. He has to do what his parents always taught him to do.

 _It's time to further solidify his spot as the future volunteer._

As Major starts stretching his arms, he looks around at the trainers, knowing the best one to bring things up to will be Emilio since he's overlooking the exam today. He's the one who will be able to make Major's plan work. But Major is a little wary as he approaches Emilio, still not knowing how to feel about the victor who beat out his father for the volunteer spot so many years ago. But from how he stands there, looking all cool as he talks to Aura, one of the victors he successfully mentored for…Major just doesn't know why his parents hate the victor so much.

Emilio sees him approaching and raises an eyebrow at him. "Major. I'm surprised you're not stretching for twenty minutes before the exam starts."

"I will be soon," Major gives Emilio a genuine smile at this, happy to find that the victors have noticed how dedicated he is to being properly prepared before a fight. Finally, someone is recognizing that he is just as capable, if not more, than the other trainees at fighting, even if he is absolutely adorable. But he drops the smile at what he has to talk to Emilio about. "There's something I want to talk to you about before the exam today…"

Emilio immediately drops the joking attitude and next to him, Aura looks intrigued as well. "What is it?"

"Well…" Major let's out a sigh, shaking his head a little before smiling apologetically at them. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't waste your time with this."

"Major, if it's something regarding training, you need to tell us," Emilio puts a hand on Major's shoulder, almost making the young boy flinch away from the distrust towards the victor his parents have given him, before realizing that Emilio is just trying to look out for him. "Your class will be the ones volunteering for the next Quarter Quell. We have to make sure that we have the best chance at victory."

 _And Major is going to get that victory._

"Well…" Major let's out a dramatic sigh before glancing back at the other trainees in his class. He stares at one of them, knowing he needs to do whatever it takes to make sure he doesn't have competition to be picked in a few years. He has to be picked. Otherwise, what would have been the point of his parents raising him the way they did and putting him into training? He has to create the legacy they were robbed of by the victor standing in front of him. When he turns back to Emilio, there's no hesitation left in him. "There's something I need to tell you about one of the other trainees."

* * *

Major ducks around the larger boys, his smaller frame coming in handy to sneak up to the front so that he can see the list posted by Emilio. He has to know if his plan worked today. But as he gets up to the front, he can hear boys calling back to someone and taunting them.

"Loser Pad got last place!"

Major finally makes it around Shard's annoyingly large frame and mentally curses when he sees who took first place. "Sorry Major," the large boy says to him as Major glances up, trying not to scowl at the kind smile on Shard's face. "I beat you again."

"I'll beat you eventually!" Major tries to smile at him, starting to rethink his strategy about how he's going to take first place from Shard. "Just wait."

"I'll be waiting," Shard answers with a chuckle as Major gets out of the crowd, not wanting to hear people congratulating Shard for once again getting first place. He just knows it's only a matter of time before one of them starts taunting Major about getting second. He'll prove them all wrong eventually. He has four years to take that spot as the volunteer.

Once free of the crowd, Major sees Pad standing off to the side, a blank look in their tear-filled eyes as they stare over at the list. Major doesn't feel any guilt as he approaches Pad – someone had to get last place and it wasn't going to be him – and Pad turns their gaze over to him as a tear slips down their face. "I can't go back home. Not after getting last place."

Major knew they wouldn't be able to do that. Not will how relentlessly they are tormented by their parents for not being good enough in training. "Where will you go?"

"I don't know," Pad whispers before turning to face the door, not letting Major see the tears running down their face. But he can still hear it in their voice. "Bye Major. Thanks for helping me this past week."

"Bye Pad," Major responds, watching Pad's back as they go to pick up their bag and leave the training academy before the taunts get too terrible. Major just stands there, watching Pad leave for the last time.

* * *

 _Anastacia Astoria, 18_

 _One Week Later_

Anastacia shouldn't be here. She shouldn't be wasting her time practicing over and over again how to shoot a bow. It had already seemed pointless before when there were so many other things she'd love to be doing, but now? She can't focus at all. Not when Pad is still missing. She should still be helping them try to find them.

But what's a thirteen year old supposed to do? She doesn't have money to hire people to look for Pad. She can't just abandon school and training all day to go search for them.

Anastacia lets out a heavy sigh as she sets down her bow, stretching her arm before looking around the training room that has thinned significantly after last week's exam. She might have placed fifth but she still feels like a failure. She hasn't been able to find her one friend…she knows the exam caused their disappearance. She had done so much to help them get away from their toxic home, away from all the screaming and abuse from parents who could never see how much Pad was trying. But in encouraging them to train more, she can't help but feel that she put them through even more abuse…

She glares over at the others in their year, knowing that so many of them relentlessly tormented Pad. And none of the trainers ever tried to stop it. Well…there was one who tried to help.

Anastacia meets Major's guilty eyes from across the room and he quickly looks away from her, returning his focus back on a small group he's part of, working on sparring techniques. At least there's one person who seems concerned by Pad's disappearance.

She quickly cuts across the room, avoiding sparring students as she keeps her focus on Major. Maybe he's heard something…he was the only one who ever showed Pad a bit of kindness. "Major," she says softly, looking at the others nearby a little nervously as a couple show interest in her. "Have you heard anything about Pad? Have they showed up at your house or anything?"

"No," Major says softly, his innocent face growing upset as he looks up at her. "Not since they left the academy after the exam."

"Damn," Anastacia says under her breath before trying to give Major a small smile, despite the ever growing pit of worry in her stomach for Pad. "I'm sure they'll show up soon."

"Maybe," Major says quietly, still a look of guilt in his eyes. Anastacia turns away from him, a little happy that at least someone is concerned for Pad.

But when she turns her gaze away, she finds a surprising figure approaching her. The leader of the training academy is walking towards Anastacia, and the young girl tries not to show her awe and bit of fear toward Thetis. "Anastacia, can you come with me?" Thetis asks, voice kept relatively neutral.

"Sure," Anastacia answers – because who would have actually said no to a request from Thetis? – despite her mind going through all sorts of thoughts on what she could have possibly done wrong that Thetis needs to talk to her. Once out of the gym and heading to Thetis' office, and Thetis hasn't said anything else, Anastacia's worry starts pouring out. "Is this about my poor attendance the past week? Because I'm sorry about that. I just needed to try and help find Pad and-"

"This isn't about your attendance," Thetis cuts off Anastacia's rambling as they enter her office. Thetis gently shuts the door behind them and Anastacia feels her throat tightening in anxiety over this. Despite all her doubts about training lately, she doesn't really want to get kicked out… Surely that must be what Thetis wants to tell her today. The victor motions to the chair at the desk, giving Anastacia a gentle smile. "It's best if you sit down."

Anastacia slowly sits down, watching Thetis as the victor takes a seat across from her. "Are you kicking me out of the academy?" She asks quietly, getting a look of surprise from Thetis.

"No," Thetis shakes her head at Anastacia and hesitates before continuing. "I just got done talking to some Peacekeepers…about Padparadscha. I know you were their closest friend here."

"Did they find them?" Anastacia sits upright at this, immediately getting filled with hope that the authorities have found her friend. "Are they alright? Can I see them?"

"Anastacia…" Thetis lets out a heavy sigh and pinches the bridge of her nose, and Anastacia just gets a sinking feeling that whatever she says next isn't going to be good. She has never seen the leader of the academy be so hesitant to say anything. "They found Pad's body…"

Anastacia stares at Thetis, her vision going out of focus as the words echo in her head. Found Pad's body… "No," she whispers, shaking her head as tears rapidly form in her eyes before falling down her cheeks. The world starts spinning around her and she puts her head down between her knees, trying to keep the bile from rising up. "No… That can't be…"

"I'm so sorry to tell you this," Thetis says softly before Anastacia jumps at the victor putting a hand on her shoulder, having not realized Thetis had moved over to her. Thetis starts rubbing her back soothingly, but nothing can stop Anastacia from feeling like her world just crashed down. Nothing can stop her chest from hurting at the news of her best friend's death.

"How?" Anastacia asks, lifting up her head to look over at Thetis through blurry tear stained eyes. "How were they killed? Was it their parents?" Thetis purses her lips at this and a few seconds pass, with the victor looking less and less likely to answer. "Tell me!" Anastacia says loudly, before letting out a sob at the loss of Pad. "Please tell me."

Thetis sighs at this, still rubbing Anastacia's back soothingly. "No one killed them… They found their body in the river with no signs of an attack. They ruled it as a suicide."

Anastacia stands up at this, needing to get out of the room that seems to be closing in on her. The world spins and she closes her eyes, trying to stop the pain in her chest. But she starts sobbing when she realizes that she's never going to see Pad again. She's never going to see their face crinkle in excitement when Anastacia would sneak into their window late at night with a plate of cookies. She's never going to be able to lay on the roof with them, staring up at the stars and talking about how someday they'll get an apartment together, adopt a few cats, and just get Pad away from their parents.

"Anastacia, I'm really sorry," Thetis says cautiously and Anastacia opens her eyes at this and starts shaking her head at the victor.

"No you're not," Anastacia says through her sobs, her throat feeling like it's closing in. "If you really cared about Pad, you would have stopped the relentless bullying they went through every time they stepped foot in the academy. They were bullied every day and then had to go home to abuse from their parents. You could have stopped it!"

"We had reports from the other students that Pad was planning to sabotage them…" Thetis says slowly, watching Anastacia carefully as slow anger starts to build in her. "We were told by the other students that Pad was the one bullying them."

"Did you ever once talk to Pad about it?" Anastacia asks accusingly, but Thetis' face gives her an answer right away. "Of course not. You just believed the others. No one ever believed Pad… I need to leave."

"Anastacia," Thetis calls after her as she starts quickly leaving the office, feeling overwhelmed in the small space. She pauses with her hand on the doorknob, waiting to hear what empty apologies the victor will try to make now. "I _am_ sorry to hear about Pad… No one should be pushed to do that."

"Well maybe you should try harder to make sure it doesn't happen again," Anastacia responds before pulling open the door, letting it slam against the wall as she races out of the building. She only makes it to just outside the academy before she collapses to the ground, struggling to breathe through her sobs. Why? Why must this have happened to Pad? She should have done more for them. She should have been a better friend…

 _I'm so sorry I failed you, Pad._

* * *

Anastacia wasn't even allowed to look at Pad's body…couldn't say goodbye to their face one last time… She kneels before their closed coffin, tears quietly streaming down her cheeks from eyes that sting from how much she's cried the past two days. She can't help but feel like she's at fault for not doing something more.

"I'm so sorry, Pad," she whispers to the coffin, hoping that Pad can hear her from up in heaven, because she has no doubt that's where they are now. "I'm sorry I didn't do more to help get you away from your parents."

She briefly turns back to look at Pad's parents, quietly talking to her own parents and watching her carefully. She's surprised they even put together the small funeral…not that anyone has shown up aside from her family. No one wants to say goodbye to Pad…

Anastacia turns back to the coffin, wiping away tears that are quickly replaced. "I should have done more in training to stop them from bullying you…"

She lets out a heavy sigh as she leans her head against the cool coffin, putting her hands on it, wishing she could hug her friend one last time. "I've done a lot of thinking since I heard the news… Thinking about what I should do now. I didn't know if I should bother continuing with training… It seems pointless without you there."

"But…" Anastacia pauses to blow her nose, still silently crying. "I want to do something. I want to stop this from happening to anyone else. No one else deserves to go through what you went through…but I'm only thirteen… I can't do much right now."

Anastacia takes a shaky breath, feeling a small sense of peace that she finally knows what she wants to do. She has a new purpose for her life, something that is going to genuinely benefit others. This is what she's meant to do and she has no doubt about it. There's still the aching pain from the loss of Pad in her chest, something she doesn't think will ever completely disappear. But…maybe she can right some wrongs in the world. "I have to keep training. I'm going to do everything I can to become the victor. And then, I'll have capabilities to make a difference in the world. It's going to be a lot of hard work but…it's worth it for you."

"I love you, Pad, and I'll always miss you," Anastacia gives the coffin a kiss before standing up. She takes one last look down at her friend. "I want to make you proud of me."

Anastacia turns around, filled with the peace of what she has to do. She's surprised by the victor standing near her, holding a small bouquet of flowers. "Hi Anastacia…"

"Thetis," Anastacia says in surprise before scrunching her eyebrows in confusion at the victor. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here to pay my respects for Padparadscha…" Thetis moves around Anastacia to place the flowers on the coffin before turning back to face the young girl. "And I wanted to talk to you. Take as much time as you need to heal before you return back to training… It's not easy to lose a friend like this."

Anastacia shakes her head at this, knowing she needs to start right away on working towards her goal. That's going to be how she heals. "No need. I'll be in tomorrow. And just you wait, I'm going to be the volunteer when I'm eighteen."

* * *

 _Major Emerson-Ness_

 _One Week Before The Reaping_

Major shakes his head at the stupid baby song repeating over and over again in his head as he starts stretching, hoping that maybe dancing will help get the song out. He looks over at his baby sister, instantly grinning at how adorable Belief is, sitting in her crib and watching him with a happy look. "I'm going to show you what good music is like, not those baby songs that get stuck in your head all day."

 _Twinkle, twinkle little –_ no! He's not having that song stuck in his head!

Major sighs as he presses play on the latest album from Beyond The Realm, leaning over to stretch his side as he smiles over at Belief. "You'll realize soon how amazing BTR is."

Belief just keeps looking all adorable as Major starts singing quietly along to the song, really hoping that the rumors about the party before the Games are true – that BTR will be performing there. He might get to meet them! And he can show off his dance routines, surely that will impress the sponsors and make the others underestimate him even more. _Oh he can't wait to shock them all._

"He's a cold hearted star," Major quietly sings as he switches to stretching his other side, not even realizing how he messed up the lyric. "Look into the sky-" Major groans when he realizes that he still has the baby song stuck in his head and now is mixing up the lyrics. He points over at Belief accusingly, but when she starts giggling at him, he grins over at her. "You're lucky you're the cutest baby ever or I'd be mad that I can't get this song out of my head."

There's a knock on the door to Belief's room and Major pauses the song as he looks over, smiling at the sight of his mother there. "Hey Mom."

"Turning her into a BTR fan already?" Joy Emerson teases as she walks into the room, heading over to her daughter.

"Of course, she needs to know what good music is," Major answers as he stands up, brushing off his pants before smiling proudly at the woman who made him who he is today. "What's up?"

Joy turns away from Belief, smile still on her face but Major can see the stern look in her eyes. "Victor just spur of the moment decided he wants the two of us to go out for dinner tonight. Golden will still be here, but can you watch Belief for me?"

"Absolutely," Major glances over at his baby sister, feeling mostly love but there's still a slight bit of jealousy that she was born out of love between Joy and Victor. But he quickly suppresses these feelings, knowing that Joy and Golden still love him. Why wouldn't they? He's achieved what they always set out for him to do. But still…there's nothing he wouldn't do for his family. He's shown that with how much he was willing to do in order to get the spot as the volunteer for the Quell.

And who wouldn't want to take care of adorable Belief? She's almost as adorable as he is.

"Also, Shard is here," Joy continues, her smile disappearing as Major lets out a sigh of annoyance. He really didn't want to see his boyfriend tonight when there's so little time left before the Games. He doesn't need that distraction from his family. "Major…why are you still dragging him along? You've secured the spot. Just get rid of Shard already."

"There's still one week left," Major shakes his head at this, refusing to take any chances of losing out on being the volunteer. "Look at what happened last year. I'm not letting Shard take back first place."

Joy smiles proudly at this, making a similar smile form on Major's face. All he wants is to make his parents proud of him. "Good. We don't want you to end up like us, thanks to stupid Emilio."

Major chuckles and shakes his head at this, understanding _why_ his parents, especially Golden, don't like Emilio. He's still a little weary himself about the victor, but being forced to work with him a lot the past few months have changed his opinion. "Mom, he's not a bad guy."

"Don't let Golden hear you say that," Joy responds as she turns back to pick up Belief. "Now go deal with Shard."

Major nods his head at this, even though his mother doesn't see the action, before leaving Belief's room and heading towards the front door. He pauses in the hallway to look in the decorative mirror, fixing his already perfect hair to make sure he looks as adorable as can be. Once happy with his appearance, he keeps walking, replacing his look of annoyance with an adorable smile just before rounding the corner to see Shard.

But from the look of fear on Shard's face, Major knows this isn't going to be a typical conversation with Shard begging for Major to forgive him for treating him poorly. Major stops in front of the hulking guy, smiling innocently up at the man he beat out to volunteer after years of being in second to him. "Hi Shard."

"Hi Major…" Shard says quietly, refusing to look Major in the eye. "Can we…um…talk?"

"We're talking right now," Major answers, still keeping the cute smile on his face, even if the last thing he wants to do is talk to Shard right now.

Shard lets out a nervous sigh, brushing his shaggy hair out of his eyes before finally meeting Major's eyes. "I…we need to break up."

"No," Major says immediately to this, even if he was intending to break up with Shard soon. If it's going to happen, it's going to happen _his_ way. So he does what he always does when Shard tries to break up with him. "Who told you to do it this time?" Major blinks rapidly, hoping the action will start to make tears form in his eyes. Shard doesn't look like he wants to answer, making Major grow angry that he's ignoring him. "Tell me!"

"Anastacia," Shard says quickly, taking a step away from Major in fear. "She said you're abusive…"

Damn, that girl is smart. But Major is smarter than her and he's going to prove that when in a couple weeks, he'll be crowned as victor, not Anastacia. "And you believed her? Over your own boyfriend?" Major starts shaking his head, putting on an expression to make Shard feel guilty about this as he feels the tears forming in his eyes. "How could you do this a week before the reaping?"

Major can tell the exact instance when Shard changes his mind about breaking up after seeing the hurt look on Major's face. It always happens this way, with Shard incapable of going through with it after seeing how hurt Major is. _Perfect._

* * *

 _Anastacia Astoria_

 _One Day Before The Reaping_

A tense, awkward silence surrounds the dinner table, the only sound being the occasional clinking of forks on the plate. Or at least, that's as much as Anastacia can tell. She rubs at her left ear, scowling a little in annoyance at stupid Darla in training for punching her. She thought she could take Anastacia out of the competition…

Well she sure proved her wrong.

Still, the disrupted hearing is a pain in the ass, but a pain in the ass that might benefit her in the Quell. She can only hope she can make the Gamemakers unaware and get lucky enough to lose the remaining hearing she has.

Anastacia gently sets down her fork, still a bit in disbelief that tomorrow is finally the day… So many years of working up to this point and she's finally done it. She wishes Pad could be here to see her, but she knows that they would be proud of her. She wants to make them even prouder of her though with what she does after she wins. First thing she does when she wins is going to be adopting a cute cat from Gwen's animal shelter. And then she's going to protect those that need her help.

"What are you thinking about?" Deidre breaks the awkward silence and Anastacia glances up from her plate to look over at her mother. "Having second thoughts about volunteering?"

"I was honestly thinking about cats…" Anastacia says softly, ignoring the small shake of her father's head at this. She tries to ignore the look of disappointment on her mother's face, but she just can't. Not when she's been having to face it for years as she grew closer and closer to being chosen. "Mom, please, just let me enjoy my last night year before the Games."

"But it doesn't have to be your last night!" Her mother pleads with her, starting the same argument that Anastacia has heard at least twice a week ever since the trainers announced her as the female volunteer. "Don't throw away your life in the Games-"

"I'm not throwing it away," Anastacia interrupts, unable to hear these things tonight. Normally she could just let her parents go off and ignore them because she was confident in her decision. But tonight? She just wants to know that they're supporting her. "I'm as prepared as can be. You know Thetis wouldn't have chosen me if I wasn't prepared to win."

"That's what everyone said about Beryl last year," Ignatius speaks up and Anastacia gives him an exasperated look. "And look what happened to her."

"Beryl was abused and no one in the academy could see that. No one ever did anything to help her… I have to help others in that situation by winning," Anastacia closes her eyes, trying to calm herself down. There's no winning this argument with them. Eventually they'll see that she's right, but it won't be now. When she opens her eyes, she finds her parents not wanting to make eye contact with her again. How did they reach this point? When did their happy little family turn so awkward and tense? "I don't need this doubt the night before I volunteer…" Anastacia says quietly, hating the feeling of doubt that's always there in the back of her mind. She's put so much into this over the years, gave up on so many things that she loved…But what if it's not enough? What if she isn't good enough to achieve the dreams she made in place of the ones who brought her joy so many years ago?

What if she's not good enough to make a difference, to really help those in need?

 _She can't be anything other than good enough._ For Pad…Beryl…and all the others in not only District One, but in all of Panem, that have had life spit in their face. All the ones who have been hurt or died because someone wasn't there to help them.

"We just wish you wouldn't do this," her mother says softly and Anastacia turns her head so she can better hear her with her good ear. "Why must you volunteer for the Quell?"

"I don't have any more options," Anastacia answers, shaking her head at the conversation that they've had so many times before. No matter what she says, they still don't get it. They don't understand that she has to do this. She stares at her mother, watching her parents exchange a look that has anxiety building in her that they're trying to sabotage her chance of victory. "What do you know?"

"We don't know any-"

"Yes you do," Anastacia cuts off her father, hating what they have done for years behind her back to try and stop her from having the chance to volunteer. "What did the rebels tell you?"

"Anastacia!" Deidre raises her voice, looking around the room anxiously at Anastacia's question as if Peacekeepers are going to bust down their door and arrest them all.

"What, are you worried they're going to arrest you?" Anastacia looks at both of them, still in disbelief that they would do this to her. "Or maybe they're just going to kill me in the arena because of you two. I still can't believe you would put my life on the line by getting involved with rebels! They're not going to make any change, why can't you see that? And why can't you see that President Xavier is making changes?"

"But the Games are still happening!" Deidre slams her fist on the table but Anastacia doesn't find anger in her eyes. Instead, she finds tears forming as her mother's voice cracks when she speaks up softly, "I don't want to lose my baby girl."

Anastacia simply stares at her mother for a few seconds, unsure how to even respond to that. She can feel the eyes on her from both of her parents, making her grow more uncomfortable with each passing second. "You're not losing me. The only way you're losing me is if they find out what you've done." She pauses to dab at her mouth with her napkin before standing up, avoiding eye contact with her parents. "Excuse me, I'm not very hungry anymore."

She quickly walks out of the dining room, ignoring her parents calling her name as she races towards her room, hating the self-doubt slowly building up in her. Once in her room, she shuts the door harshly before slowly walking over to the large vanity set up that has been cluttered with taped pictures on it. She stares at the memories, all of them from a happier time. Back when she had her best friend and hadn't become so set on her goal of winning.

"Pad, I hope you're proud of me," she says softly, staring at the picture of herself and Pad grinning with excitement on their very first day of training. She smiles fondly at the memory and how things used to be. Before Pad was pushed by their parents and the others in the academy to suicide… "Tomorrow is finally the day I volunteer… I just wish you were here to celebrate with me."

Anastacia sighs as she blinks rapidly, trying to keep back the tears from the loss that still hurts just as much as it did three and a half years ago when she found out. "I'm sorry I couldn't do more for you… But I'm not going to let anyone else in training have to deal with the abuse you faced by your parents. I'm not just going to change things here in One. I'll do my best to help every District, in your memory."

She leans over so she can pick up the ring sitting in the middle of her dresser, the ring that she'll be taking into the arena with her. She smiles at the two padparadscha sapphires, knowing she'll have Pad with her, thanks to the gems that were their namesake. "At least I'll have you watching over me. I know you'll protect me."

Anastacia slips the ring onto her right hand, knowing she has so much to fight for. And she's going to prove her parents wrong. They have no reason to doubt her training. All these years have led up to this and Anastacia knows she's ready. She's ready to make a change in the world with her victory. She's ready to make sure no one else ends up like Pad.

Anastacia takes a deep breath before she brushes the doubt aside, knowing that if she wants to help out others, she has to make sacrifices for herself. But there is one thing she will not sacrifice: her life.

* * *

 _Jeweladia Sparkington, 23, Escort for District One_

Jewel is still a bit in shock that she was promoted to _District One_ , of all places, even after not getting a victor. She knows it's thanks to her name and jewel aesthetic but…part of her is a little disappointed to have left District Six. But she isn't going to let anyone know that embarrassing fact.

Besides, she can't complain too much about being promoted to the first District and one that always has volunteers.

"Good morning everyone!" Jewel says cheerfully and has to stop in surprise when she's met with loud applause from the crowd gathered in front of her. District Six was never this enthusiastic about the Reaping… _Maybe she can get used to being here._ She grins out at the crowd filled with happy children, all of them relaxed and not at all fearing what might happen to them. "As you may know, I'm Jewel Sparkington and it's my first time here in District One! And I'm ready to bring you home the victor of the Sixth Quarter Quell!"

The applause from the crowd is overwhelming and Jewel has to pause again, still trying to get used to this bizarre experience. But she likes it a lot. She liked Six, but she definitely wants to stay here in One. "Well how about we pick the female tribute?" She grins out at the crowd before going to the first glass sphere with a skip in her step. Hard not to be so happy about everyone so warmly accepting her! She is about to take her time with picking out the name out of habit, before remembering that it won't matter anymore who she picks. She's going to have two _volunteers_.

Since it won't matter, she picks one of the first pieces of paper she touches with her hand covered in jeweled rings before returning back to the center of the stage. "Alright, can Emilia Barin come up on stage?"

An impeccably dressed girl steps out from among the front section, looking way too delicate and well put together to have trained. But from the grin on her face and the way she waves at the crowd, she doesn't seem to have any problem with being reaped. She even greets Jewel with air kisses on the cheek, leaving the escort stunned once more by the lovely response here in One. "Welcome," Jewel says with a smile, getting it together when she remembers that she's on camera. "Now, are there any volunteers for Emilia?"

Only a couple seconds pass before a voice speaks clearly from the front of the crowd the words Jewel has been waiting to hear for the past five years, ever since she became an escort. "I volunteer!"

Jewel gets a chill down her spine at that as the volunteer steps out from the crowd, keeping her head held high and gaze fixed on the stage as she makes her way up. Her outfit is kept simple – at least compared to Jewel's bedazzled dress – of just a simple blue tight fitting dress that shows of her figure resembling that of a dancer. But the color compliments her sharp gray eyes framed by loose black hair. Once standing on the stage next to Jewel, the escort is practically beaming in excitement over the volunteer. _She looks so badass and ready to fight!_

"And what is your name?" Jewel asks, giggling a little in excitement over how amazing this promotion is.

The girl looks out at the crowd before returning her gaze to Jewel, just a slight hint of nerves present. But when she answers, her voice is clear and unwavering. "Anastacia Astoria."

"Welcome, Anastacia!" Jewel says happily as the crowd applauds for their first volunteer and Jewel even joins in a little. "Now how about we see who will be joining Anastacia?"

Jewel once again has a skip to her step as she makes her way to the other glass sphere of names, once again picking a piece of paper at random before quickly returning to the microphone. She just can't wait to see who will be volunteering next! "Okay, can Legend Katariah please join us on stage?"

The reaped boy steps out from the sixteen year old section and makes his way up to the stage quickly, but unlike Emilia, he looks as if he has been training. Who knows, maybe Jewel will be seeing him again on stage in a year or two as the volunteer! "And do we have a second volunteer?"

"I volunteer!" A sweet voice calls out from the front of the crowd before stepping forward, leaving Jewel in surprise because he is not at all what she would have expected as the other volunteer… Because she's never seen a male volunteer step forward with a large bow in his pale blond hair or wearing a dance tutu that reminds Jewel of the ones she used to wear when she was five and taking ballet lessons, with a white button up tucked into it the poofy fabric. He's giving Jewel and the crowd a very warm and inviting smile as he walks up the steps to the stage, even waving a little at them before turning to greet Jewel, holding out a hand to shake hers. Up close, Jewel can see the freckles across his flawless face. Wow…he's prettier than she is.

"Major Emerson-Ness," he answers confidently as Jewel shakes his hand. "And I'm going to be District One's next victor."

Jewel turns back to the victors in surprise as the crowd gives applause at his statement, wondering if this boy is really who the victors picked as their volunteer. Yet they're all applauding with the crowd and none of them look upset… Well, maybe Jewel will be surprised by this innocent looking boy who apparently likes to wear tutus…

Jewel takes another look at her first volunteers, her smile growing even larger, which she didn't think was possible at this point. Surely the victors of District One have picked their very best to volunteer for the Quarter Quell. "Well District One, we have our tributes! Anastacia Astoria and Major Emerson-Ness!"

The crowd cheers in excitement at this and Major responds by waving at them excitedly. After seeing Major's response, Anastacia also starts waving, but not nearly as enthusiastically.

The two volunteers shake each other's hand and Jewel is just beaming in excitement at how wonderful the Reaping has turned out. This might just be the year she gets her very first victor!

* * *

 **Alrighty here we go, first set of intros! :D I love these two so big thank you to Legend and Celtic for Anastacia and Major respectively! And Jewel is back again from Overlooked, submitted by ImaginationStories!**

 **I kinda went a little nuts with writing these, so all of them are going to be long intros now lol. But I don't think anyone is going to complain about long intros.** **I'm not sure on if each one will have the same format on what type of sections I write. I'm just going to write whatever best gets across the tribute and will match the word count for each one!**

 **So of course, I'd love to hear what you think of these two! Also as we keep going through the intros, definitely let me know if there are any interactions between tributes that you would like to see!**

 **I'm hoping to keep updating about every 2-3 weeks, but with the semester starting up soon, the time might get a little longer. But that's because I want to make sure these intros are great and take my time with them!**

 **Well, I'll see you next time in District Two!**


	6. District 2: Dedication

**Trigger warning: Some homophobic/transphobic comments at the end of Odyssey's section.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2:**

 _District Two_

 _Bellona "Bell" Silvanus, 18_

 _Two months before the Reaping_

"Do you two want to volunteer or not?"

Bell lets out a sigh as she lifts up the eye mask, squinting at the sudden light as she tries to look at the victor yelling at them. If it was anyone else, Bell would have given them a short, sarcastic response, something like _'No, I'm just training blindfolded for fun'_. But not to Kat Liero. She will not test that woman's threat to pick someone else to volunteer if she needs to.

"What?" Odyssey asks loudly as he pulls off his noise cancelling headphones, having missed out on everything Kat just said to them.

"I said," Kat starts slowly, staring intensely at both of them to make sure they're paying attention to her, but Bell wouldn't dream of not paying attention to the victor who has the final say in who volunteers. "Do you two want to volunteer or not?"

"Absolutely," Bell answers quickly, not wanting Kat to doubt her for even a second. Of course she wants to volunteer. She wouldn't have gotten Decima out of the way last year if she wasn't completely serious about being District Two's next Quell victor. She frowns just a little at this thought, having expected Decima to come up on top, not that boy from Eight. But…such is life. Everyone knows going into the Games what the odds are and Bell is not going to forget those odds. That was the mistake both of Two's tributes made last year, they both got too confident, and look what happened.

But not this year.

"Yes ma'am," Odyssey responds cheerfully, seemingly unbothered at all by the underlying threat in Kat's question. Bell spares a quick glance over at him, still not understanding after a few weeks of working with him often how he can just take everything in stride and not getting bothered by problems popping up. Bell likes to think she is good at figuring out people, but she has yet to figure out Odyssey Gunderson.

Well, she still has two months to figure him out before the Games to make sure she knows how to use him to get her victory.

Kat purses her lips at them and crosses her arms, still not seeming too happy about their teamwork, or rather, the lack of. And Bell knows why Kat is disappointed, she has the bruises on her arms from getting punched by either the trainers or Odyssey while they've been blindfolded and tried to work together. "I refuse to see District Two lose their chance at victory again because the two volunteers can't work together. I'm giving you one week to prove to me that you two can work together and guarantee you won't implode in the arena. If not, well, I'll find two volunteers who can prove that to me."

One week? One week to prove that Bell can work with someone that ultimately has to die for her to win? Bell gives an uncertain look over at Odyssey, wishing she didn't have to count on someone else to guarantee her spot as volunteer. But he's giving her such a confident smile that she finds herself slowly smiling back at him. He turns back to Kat, face turning to fierce determination as he nods his head at the victor. "We'll prove it to you. District Two is going to get a victor."

Kat doesn't seem convinced by this but simply motions to the three victors they've been working with, "Very well. Get back to work."

Bell glances around at the three victors, already dreading if she messes up and gets hit by one of them. In Kat's determination to get Two another Quell victor, she's put every victor to work in training them. And that means Bell has to face getting punched today by only the best in hand-to-hand contact: Darach Westmann, Jory Foran, and Maylene Henderson. Kat doesn't trust them yet with weapons – thank God or someone probably would have lost a limb by now – but fists still hurt a lot. She lets out a sigh as she stretches her aching arms, already hating the chuckle of amusement from Jory at her reaction. She turns her gaze back to Odyssey as she reaches up to put her blindfold back on. "Well, let's get this over with."

"Wait," Odyssey says quickly and reaches out to grab her arm, stopping her from blinding herself. Bell raises an eyebrow as she glances down at the hand on her arm and Odyssey lets go quickly, picking up on her being uncomfortable by the action. When she brings her gaze back up to his, that fierce determination is back in his eyes. "We need to fight together. Kat's right, we're never going to win if we keep going like we have been."

"I know that," Bell says with a huff, not wanting him to think she isn't smart enough to have picked up on that. They're…a mess when working together and it's not a surprise to her that Kat threatened them. They're not as much of a mess as last year's tributes, but they're close.

"Well we need to work together," Odyssey responds, watching her carefully to see how she reacts. Bell nods her head in agreement, smiling a little up at him, knowing she needs to make sure she can fight with him to win. And to make sure that he isn't going to fight against her. "I don't normally plan stuff but some strategy here might be needed."

"I'm listening."

"Well I won't be in a minute," Odyssey jokes as he gestures to the headphones hanging around his neck right now. Bell snorts at this and finds herself grinning at him before trying to stop that. She doesn't want to be friends with him. Being friends is only going to complicate things in the arena… "Anyways, I might not be able to hear, but you can. So I'll help you out by telling you where they are."

Bell considers this for a moment, not wanting to put her trust in someone so blindly, not when he could easily betray her in the arena. It should be the other way around, with Bell getting him to trust her. But…he looks so genuine about it that she soon agrees. "Okay but if I get punched in the face, I'm blaming you."

"I'll gladly take that blame," Odyssey chuckles as Bell pulls the blindfold down, taking a few seconds to get adjusted to the darkness. She hates the loss of sight, but at least she can still hear the victors around her as they move away from where they were talking together. She tries to track their footsteps, but it's hard with Odyssey joking around – he must have put his headphones back on, based on the volume of his voice. "Sorry that I can't lend an ear right now." Bell rolls her eyes behind her blindfold and shakes her head at him, but she still snorts a little at the joke. Odyssey laughs loudly at her reaction and she can tell by his tone that he's grinning right now, "Alright let's _see_ what we can – oof!"

Bell hears a loud thud on the ground from her right, just where Odyssey had been standing. The victors clearly aren't waiting around for Odyssey to stop joking. Good. No one is going to wait for them in the arena. Bell turns her head, trying to hear where the victor was that knocked Odyssey down, barely able to hear their footsteps as they move closer to her. She strikes out with her fist, getting a gasp from Jory when she hits him.

"Yasss, queen!" Odyssey says loudly from the ground and Bell shakes her head, getting back into a fighting stance and straining to hear the other two victors. She can hear Darach's heavy footsteps in front of her but she can't hear Maylene, which is making her nervous. "Duck!"

Bell only hesitates for a fraction of a second before she listens to Odyssey, crouching down and trusting that he isn't going to lead her astray. There's some scuffling next to her in Odyssey's direction and she hears Maylene let out a curse from behind her. Bell kicks out her foot, swinging it widely in hopes that she'll hit her. Bell reaches out to steady herself on the ground as her foot hits Maylene, sending her off balance. She can hear Odyssey starting to fight again, probably against Jory since Bell just knocked Maylene away.

Bell stands up, struggling to hear where Maylene is and punches the air in front of her. She curses at this and moves her head around quickly, still unable to find the victor. Not with how much noise Odyssey is making fighting Jory. Panic starts to slowly build up in her out of fear of not being able to hear her opponents. If she can't do this now, how is she supposed to handle this if she's blinded in the arena? And when people are trying to kill her?

A fist strikes her harshly in the right shoulder and Bell cries out in pain from the punch. She can barely move her arm without sending a stab of pain through her shoulder, making her eyes water under her blindfold. Damn it, Odyssey said he was going to help! Some help he is.

 _This is why you can't trust boys._

Starting to get desperate to save herself from more pain, Bell kicks out her right leg in the direction she thinks are the victors. Her foot connects with them and she starts grinning until she hears the intense grown of pain from Odyssey. "Yield!" Odyssey cries out and Bell quickly takes off her blindfold, feeling guilty immediately when she sees him crouched over, hands holding his junk and tears of pain forming in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry," Bell says quickly, feeling really bad about kicking him there. Yeah, she'll do whatever to win, but kicking a guy in the junk is a low blow, even for her.

"I'll be fine," Odyssey strains to say, but Bell can tell by his voice that he's anything from fine right now. Bell carefully grabs his headphones so he can at least hear her and he smiles gratefully up at her before wincing in pain once more. "Well I guess I don't have to tuck later since you've kicked them so far up."

Bell rolls her eyes at the joke, starting to question how she's going to put up with all of his jokes for the next two months. "Yeah he's fine if he's joking," Bell says, looking around at the victors and seeing another one approaching, carrying two ice packs in her hands. Bell starts smiling at Glacia, hoping she's about to get another opportunity to try and talk the Quell victor into mentoring her. She's not giving up. She doesn't care if it takes until the day before the Reaping, she's going to get the victor with the most Quell experience to mentor her. "Hey Glacia."

"Was my husband nice to you?" Glacia asks as she hands an ice pack first to Odyssey.

"Oh, yes queen, thank you," Odyssey mutters as he gratefully takes the ice pack before letting Jory help him get over to one of the benches on the side of the room. "Thanks Jory, this is why you're Irene's favorite victor. That and she thinks you're hot."

The two laugh as Glacia hands Bell the other ice pack. Meanwhile, Darach starts to look guilty at his wife's presence and she lets out a sigh. "What did he do?"

"Punched her in the shoulder," Maylene answers as Bell puts the ice pack on her shoulder, sighing in the relief that it provides her. Glacia and Maylene share a hesitant look before Maylene shrugs at Bell. "I guess we'll call it quit for the day. You two took quite the beating. Go enjoy the weekend and we'll start again first thing Monday morning."

"Thanks Maylene," Bell says softly, getting a faint smile from the victor before she nods her head at the other two before leaving. Bell was quite proud of herself that she managed to talk Maylene into helping them train, especially with the upcoming Quell bitterly reminding her of who she lost. But hey, that wasn't her fault. Bell just wanted to have one of the few people that got a 12 in training help her. She can't control what happened in the past.

"So Bellona, can I talk to you?" Glacia asks her and Bell nods her head immediately, trying not to get too hopeful about what Glacia might have to say. She doesn't just want the victor to be her mentor for her knowledge about a Quell, but also out of admiration. Glacia's doing exactly what Bell wants to do after winning.

Glacia motions for them to start walking out of the training room and when Darach tries to walk with them, she gives him a look and he sighs heavily at this. "Glacia, you're not going without me so you might as well let me join you now."

Not going without him? Does that mean…?

Bell tries not to hide her excitement – it's not a definite yet – when Glacia sighs and shakes her head at Darach before giving Bell a hesitant smile. "Kat has finally talked me into doing what I really don't like to do… I'm only doing it because she said you haven't stopped asking… So, against my better judgement, I've decided to mentor you."

Bell grins so wide at this her cheeks hurt, but she can't help it. She managed to get _Glacia_ of all people convinced to be her mentor. "You're not going to regret it at all. I'm getting that victory no matter what."

"But," Glacia says, holding up her hand and making Bell's smile drop in concern. "There's one condition…"

"You have to put up with me," Darach steps in, putting an arm around his wife's shoulders. Despite the smile on his face, Bell can see the concern in his eyes. "I'm not letting her mentor without me."

Bell lucked out even more than she expected. She's going to be mentored by two of District Two's most legendary victors? She holds in a chuckle at her success, knowing her one competitor for the spot as volunteer never achieved this. _Suck it, Decima._ "Then Two is guaranteed to have a victor with you two mentoring me."

Darach laughs loudly at this, making Glacia roll her eyes at him, but she still gives him a look full of love. "She reminds me of someone I once mentored."

"I have no clue who you're talking about," Glacia teases, getting a wink from him before turning her attention back to Bell. "Can you meet with us tomorrow to start discussing strategy? Kat mentioned you want to study psychology next year…maybe we can use some of what I've been learning."

"Definitely," Bell responds immediately, forgetting about relaxing tomorrow. She'll relax once she is victor.

"Now go enjoy your night off," Glacia answers, giving Bell a hesitant smile before motioning towards the door. "You won't get too many of those soon."

"I will," Bell tells her, almost ready to chuck the ice pack aside and keep training right now. She watches the victor couple leave before heading over to her bag on the side of the room, carefully picking it up and putting the strap on her left shoulder so she doesn't make her right shoulder worse. She winces in pain from it and rubs it a little, knowing it's only going to get worse. But, at least she has some time to ice it before she meets up with Victoria and Tiberius for movie night.

"Hey Bellona," Odyssey calls out to her, making her pause in the doorway to glance back at him limping over, still holding an ice pack. She cringes a little at that, knowing it was her fault. Maybe if he was an asshole she wouldn't feel bad, but he's not… He's too nice and friendly and she needs to keep reminding herself that he needs to die for her to win.

"I'm sorry about that," Bell gestures to the ice pack he holds, ignoring her thoughts about not being friendly with him.

Odyssey casually shrugs at this as they start heading towards the entrance of the training center, pushing back his shaggy hair by his ear to point at the scar on his earlobe. "I've gotten worse injuries and those were intentional. But anyways, while I don't have a problem talking about guy's junk, that's not why I stopped you." Bell raises an eyebrow at this, making Odyssey chuckle a little at her reaction. "But uh, I had an idea for how we could show Kat we're working together."

"I'm serious about being the volunteer," Bell says, needing Odyssey to understand that she's not giving up on this spot. There's no way she's giving up on the ultimate challenge of winning a Quarter Quell.

"Hi serious, I'm Odyssey," he grins at her, waiting to see her response. Bell tries not to laugh at the joke, knowing laughing only encourages her father when he cracks jokes just like this. But…she can't help the small snort of laughter. He just looks too happy about the joke. "But anyways, being serious… I was thinking…" He pauses when they step outside into a light drizzle, making him start pouting and making him look almost adorable at his reaction. "I hate getting caught in rain."

Bell turns her gaze away from him, quickly putting to a stop any thoughts she has about how he looks. She will _not_ let anyone get in the way of her victory, especially not the cute boy who is probably volunteering with her. "So what were you thinking?" She asks, trying to get her thoughts away from Odyssey. She can't end up losing like Decima did.

"Well," Odyssey starts, actually sounding a little nervous, making her glance at him curiously. If he's nervous, maybe it's a weakness she can use in the arena. "Kat wants us to work together. Don't you think that would be easier if we did stuff together outside of training? You know, get to know each other?"

Bell carefully thinks over her response, knowing just how dangerous it might be to become friends with Odyssey. Friends are way too dangerous in the arena. But…wouldn't it be better to have Odyssey as a friend and not an enemy? "Odyssey, I'm intending on winning. You know what that means for you."

"I'm also planning on winning so I guess we have a bit of a problem here," Odyssey smiles over at her, showing her comment hasn't succeeded in pushing him into being a friendly acquaintance. "So why don't we agree now that we'll work until the end? Show them all that District Two shouldn't be underestimated. And then the best one of us can win."

He's so full of himself and it's obvious that he's confident that he'll be the one to end up victorious in that fight. But Bell doesn't back down from a challenge and making Odyssey think they're friends might just help her manipulate the other careers. So against her better, she sticks out her hand to him. "Deal."

Odyssey is grinning as he shakes her hand firmly, "Now, _friend_ , how about you come to my show tonight?"

"Your show?" Bell questions, watching his face grow nervous about her question. "Oh yeah, I forgot Pride is putting on a small show tonight…"

Bell really isn't sure about the show…it's so different from the plays she goes to see with her sister. Hell, it's different than anything her family ever does. And she was supposed to do stuff with Victoria and Tiberius tonight…

Odyssey takes her hesitation as her answer and starts pouting some more, turning away to hide the disappointment on his face. "Well, I guess I'll see you on Monday for training."

He starts walking away and Bell calls out to him, even if she doesn't know why. "Wait!" She yells, waiting for him to turn back to look at her. Why not go? She can bring her friends with her and it will be a chance to get Odyssey to like her more. And who knows, maybe letting him think they're friends will work to her advantage in the arena. "What time does it start?"

Odyssey starts beaming at her, causing her to smile back as his smile is just the kind that you see and can't help smiling in return. "9 pm. And make sure to bring your friends."

* * *

 _Venus Nahara aka Odyssey Gunderson, 18_

 _Later that day_

To say that Venus was excited for tonight would be the biggest understatement. Tonight was her last big show here in District Two before going off to do bigger and better things in the Capitol. But there is no time to be sad today. Not when she has worked her cute butt off to plan this party.

"Why does your makeup look better than mine?"

Venus chuckles at her sister's approach, leaning over to give her air kisses on both cheeks. "Because you taught me everything. How is the crowd tonight?"

Laurentina grins at her as their youngest sister Penny runs over. "Small, but enthusiastic. You know how District Two is."

Venus sighs dramatically, knowing all too well the bigotry still prevalent in this District. "Well you know what I always say, if they can't love themselves, how are they supposed to love someone else?" Venus notices Penny looking upset by this and reaches out, gently hitting her sister on the noise. "But we're not here to be upset. We're here to have some fun and celebrate everyone."

"Can I dance up on stage with you?" Penny asks her, eyes wide in excitement as Venus stands up, taking one last look in the mirror to make sure her appearance is flawless. Laurentina wasn't wrong, her makeup does look stunning, and her dress is showing off all those muscles she's worked hard to earn in training.

Venus swirls back to face her sisters, smiling sweetly at little Penny. Well, not quite little anymore, but she'll always be Venus' little sis. "Of course you can, Miss Penny. Maybe we'll even get Laurentina to get up on stage."

Laurentina starts flushing at this suggestion, making Penny start giggling while Venus laughs loudly. "Not a chance. I love you and happily support everything you do, but I'm not dancing up on stage with you."

"Not even if there's a cute girl dancing with you?" Venus wiggles her delicately drawn eyebrows, watching Laurentina grow even redder. "Maybe that other intern in the mayor's office?"

"Oh look at the time," Laurentina says quickly, glancing down at the non-existent watch on her wrist. "It's time for you to start the show."

"The night is young, there's still plenty of time to find Laurentina a girl," Venus loudly whispers to Penny, watching their oldest sister keep flushing at this. Venus starts motioning the two from the dressing rooms at the back of the small club that was willing to let them host this show with Pride. Well, it helps that Venus is one of this year's volunteers and the club is run by District Two's youngest victor, Misha Harington, victor of the 147th Games.

"Alright you two queens, time for you to head out into the crowd," Venus gives her sisters kisses on the cheeks before having to part from them.

"Good luck!" Penny grins at her and Venus blows her a kiss as they start walking to head out to the crowd.

"Make sure you slay," Laurentina glances back to look at Venus.

Venus winks at her sister and puts a hand on her hip and gestures to herself with the other. "Oh honey you know I'm always slaying." Penny giggles at this and waves cheerfully at Venus as Laurentina shakes her head a little, but the smile she's fighting makes Venus know it's all in fun. "Enjoy the show!" Venus calls after them, waiting until they are out of sight to keep walking over towards the stage.

Venus finds the young victor near the back of the stage and he grins over at Venus approaching. "Miss Nahara, always lovely to see you."

"Oh yessss, Misha, you are looking stunning," Venus gestures to the victor's silver jumpsuit, covered in gems and with a soft gauzy cape draping around his shoulders. "Where did you get that and where can I get my own?"

"I had to make sure I was dressed appropriately for District Two Pride's second annual Drag Show," Misha takes Venus' hand, kissing the back of it. Venus jokingly fans herself, making the victor start laughing. "How about I'll gift you one when you return to Two as the victor?"

"I'll wear it the first time I get to perform in the Capitol," Venus gives Misha a flirty wink at this to hide how flattered she is that Misha wants to gift her something like that. "And thank you, it means a lot to know I have District Two's youngest victor supporting me."

"Only the youngest for a few more months," Misha winks at Venus, making her flush a little and dramatically fan herself, only making Misha chuckle at her reaction. "Now come, my queen, it is time for us to make our grand entrance for the night."

"You flatter me too much, Mr. Harington," Venus teases as Misha leads her towards the stage he built just for tonight. She doesn't even know how to start thanking Misha for everything he's done, from transforming the space to even being one of the hosts. This show just wouldn't be possible without him… "Thank you, honey, for everything. I don't know why you do so much for me but thank you."

Misha pauses at the edge of the stage to turn back to stare at Venus, his dark gray eyes staring so intensely at her that she is in shock by the look, keeping her from having a witty response like normal. "I have my reasons, Od- er, Venus," he whispers, catching himself before using the wrong name right now. Venus raises her eyebrows at his soft tone, barely able to catch what he says next. "I'll tell you in time."

Misha turns around, leaving Venus stunned and trying to recover from the way he stared at her like he could see right through her, past all the makeup and the over the top fashion. And it's left her with a feeling she isn't used to, making her face heat up and her heart rate quicken.

 _No, no, that is not happening before the Games happen._

Venus shakes her head, clearly out any thoughts to focus on right now. She doesn't have much planned for the future, but she isn't about to plan something that will interfere with winning the Games and becoming a famous queen in the Capitol.

Luckily Misha has turned back into his normal, flirty self and when he turns back to Venus, that serious look is gone and replaced with a smirk of excitement. "Alright Venus, you ready to wow the crowd?"

"Absolutely," Venus answers confidently, letting the victor lead her out onto the stage. They're met with excited cheers and Venus blows a few kisses out to the crowd, laughing as a few people try to catch them. Laurentina was right, it's a small crowd, but they more than make up for it with their energy. District Two may not be as accepting of these people as other Districts, but they don't let that stop them from being proud. And Venus is so proud to be part of it.

Venus skims the crowd, pleased when she finds everyone she invited is here tonight. "Oh yasss queens, you are all looking gorgeous tonight!"

"Welcome, everyone, to Pride's Second Annual Drag Show!" Misha yells out, getting loud cheers of excitement. Venus claps her hands at this, feeling so thrilled by the crowd and being up on stage. This is what she's meant to be doing, no doubt about it. "We're your hosts for the evening. Of course, you all know me, Misha Harington, but our true star of the night is Miss Venus Naharaaaa!"

Venus strikes a pose with her hands on her hips before starting to laugh in happiness at all the cheers from the crowd, especially when one of her friends screams out, "Work, queen!"

"Oh yes honey, you know I will," Venus calls out, pointing at where her friends stand with her sisters. Venus waits for the crowd to stop cheering, resting her arm on Misha's shoulder and smiling at him, getting a lazy grin in return. "Now before we get started with tonight's show, there's a few people we need to thank for their help in putting together this show. First and foremost, we need to give a very loud round of applause for this man next to me." Venus leads the crowd in cheering for the victor, even jokingly pretending to bow to him, much to his amusement. "Thank you, Misha! We couldn't have done this without you!"

Misha chuckles at Venus' reaction, waving at the crowd to quiet down. "I also couldn't have done this without Miss Venus Nahara here."

Venus basks in the cheers, living for the spotlight. "Well Misha just couldn't say no to this beautiful face," she teases him, but pauses when she notices he seems to hesitate to laugh at this comment. But with the crowd in front of them, there's no time for her to think more of it. "There's a few others I need to thank. We have my dear sisters. Laurentina, for letting me raid her closet, and Penny for coming up with the theme of tonight, honoring our last Quarter Quell: Ancient Gods and Goddesses!"

The crowd rightfully applauds her sisters, Venus joining in on the praise. "And of course, there's a few friends to thank for helping out. We have Astraea, Irene and Ajax, and Wence," Venus leans forward, holding up a hand to pretend to whisper to the crowd. "Boys, Wence is single."

Venus winks over at a quickly blushing Wence, the boy trying to hide behind Ajax laughing loudly at his reaction, especially when someone in the crowd shouts out, "I'm single, Wence!"

Venus laughs along with the crowd, knowing Wence isn't truly upset with her and it's all in good fun. And if he ends up with a date after tonight, well, it wouldn't be the worst thing to happen.

Misha looks about ready to start the show, but Venus holds up a hand to stop him. "There's one more special guest tonight to acknowledge." Misha raises an eyebrow at this, but motions for her to continue, thankfully letting Venus take charge of the show since she was the one who organized most of it. "I want to give a big shout out to the person volunteering with my boy Odyssey, the queen Miss Bellona Silvanus!"

Venus starts clapping for Bellona, hoping for a brief second that she isn't going to be upset by Venus bringing attention to her. But Bellona starts waving at the crowd glancing over at her, grinning and laughing at all of their attention. Thank goodness she's a good sport and doesn't mind the attention on her.

"Now," Venus says dramatically, getting the crowd to quiet down as they wait for what she'll say next. "Get ready to work, queens!"

* * *

 _Odyssey Gunderson, 18_

Odyssey is still basking in the attention and cheers of the crowd as he finally steps out of the building, letting out a sigh of relief at the cool night air. It's on nights like this when he's absolutely certain that this is what he's meant to be doing. He belongs up on that stage as Venus, performing in front of people. But not just the small crowds in District Two of those that understand him and don't judge him for not being 'enough of a man' for enjoying performing as a drag queen. He wants to be in the Capitol, doing this for a living.

Well, he'll get there soon. He just needs to get through the Games first and become the victor. Then he'll figure things out from there.

But one step at a time.

Odyssey searches outside for his friends that said they would wait for him, finding them pretty easily in front of the building since most people have left already. His sisters have long since left to avoid Diana and Juju getting too upset at Penny staying out late. Odyssey might forget sometimes that Penny is only fourteen, but their mothers certainly don't forget this.

It seems like only his friends were willing to wait around for Odyssey to wrap things up with Misha. Odyssey had delayed a little bit there, wanting to see if Misha acted…odd anymore once he took off all the makeup and was no longer Venus, but the victor was so exhausted by that point that he was barely keeping up a conversation. Which Odyssey was a little okay with…he didn't want to deal with that kind of confrontation. It's best just to put those thoughts aside for now. Those thoughts will only distract him when he needs to be completely focused on the Games.

"There's our queen and future victor," Irene calls over to him and Odyssey holds up his hands, giving a little spin as the small group cheers for him as he walks over.

"Hey, no longer a queen right now," Odyssey says with a wink, getting a scoff from Ajax at this as his friend puts his arm around Irene. Odyssey turns his attention over to where Wence is standing quietly to the side, wanting to make sure he isn't excluded from the conversation or mad at Odyssey. "How are you, Wence?" He doesn't ask directly about earlier, feeling a little nervous that Wence will be angry at him and really not wanting to have that confrontation tonight.

"I'm good," Wence says softly, giving Odyssey a smile that tells him there are no hard feelings, always able to communicate well without words.

Odyssey grins back at him, but Astraea speaks up before he can. "He's more than good, he got a number from a cute guy." She sighs wistfully as Wence starts turning red at her comment. "I wish I had gotten a number from a cute guy."

"You had plenty of chances to get someone's number," Irene teases, making Astraea start pouting at this. But knowing Astraea, Irene is probably right. "If you weren't so hung up on that guy from training, you could have gotten a date tonight."

"Did you guys have fun tonight?" Odyssey asks quickly, noticing the way Astraea is looking a little upset at Irene's teasing and wanting to keep everyone happy. "What about Penny and Laurentina?"

"Penny had so much fun!" Irene says right away and both of them start grinning about Odyssey's youngest sister. Everyone in their friend group just loves Penny. "She was really sad when it was time for them to leave."

"I knew she would be," Odyssey says with a sigh, but tries not to let it bother him. There's no fighting their mother's curfew. So instead he turns his head up to the sky, enjoying the fresh air around him after being in that club for hours. Two is finally starting to warm up this spring, but not tonight. Not with the cloudless sky showing off the stars. "Wow, it really is such a beautiful night."

"Hey Odyssey!"

Odyssey turns around in surprise, not having realized that there were other people still around the club. He had assumed everyone left a while ago. So he's pleasantly surprised to see Bellona standing there with her two friends, giving him a small smile. "Oh hey, Bellona. I thought you would have left by now."

Bellona gives a small shrug at this, walking over to him, her friends close behind her. "We figured we would wait to see you after you were done." She gives him a small smile at this, only making Odyssey start grinning that she waited all this time. Surely if she's stuck around, she must have enjoyed the show and his plan is working to show Kat they can get along and work together! "You live over in the stone quarter, right? I'm close to there, we can walk back with you."

"Sure, sure," Odyssey answers, grinning over at her as he motions for his friends to get moving as they watch Bellona apprehensively. Their reaction is understandable since she's volunteering with him, but they don't really know her. Not that Odyssey quite knows her either but…she doesn't seem like a bad person.

They start walking back to their homes in a slightly uncomfortable silence as their friends talk around them, slowly falling behind them, leaving the two volunteers to talk. Odyssey so badly wants to ask Bellona what she thought of the show, but can't bring himself to ask. He doesn't want the conflict with Bellona if she doesn't agree with his hobby, not just because it would threaten his chance of volunteering, but he's dealt so much already with people in Two not approving of his choices. "So…" Odyssey starts, trying to find some way to break the silence that is slowly building in awkwardness. He just isn't sure what to say to the person he really doesn't know that well aside from what he's seen in training. "I bet you didn't expect to have one of our victors bring you on stage for the audience round of the lip sync battle."

"Not at all," Bellona lets out a hearty laugh at this before covering up her mouth when she lets out a snort of laughter. Odyssey chuckles at her response, feeling hopeful that she enjoyed herself, but still, he keeps quiet and doesn't ask. Luckily, Bellona is just as sociable as he is and doesn't seem to have a problem keeping up the conversation. "I wasn't sure what I was expecting but I had fun. A lot of fun, actually."

"It wasn't…too much?" Odyssey asks carefully, aware that he might have made her uncomfortable by dancing with her in the crowd as Venus. But that's what Venus does and he wasn't going to change who he is. _But he so badly needs things to work well with Bellona. There's no alternative to him volunteering._

Odyssey sneaks a glance over at Bellona, trying to pick up on any emotions to indicate how she really feels about tonight. But she's keeping her face a cool mask, making it difficult for him to pick up on anything. A few seconds pass before she looks over at him, turning away when she sees him looking at her and Odyssey almost thinks he catches a faint blush on her cheeks, only making him even more confused by her. "No," she finally answers, giving a smile over at him. "That's was probably the most fun I've had in a while."

"Really?" Odyssey fully turns to Bellona, grinning in excitement over this. He can't help it, not when he was afraid that Bellona was going to insult his passion or push him away, ruining his chances of fame in the Capitol. She could just be saying it to make sure she still volunteers, but as long as that still happens for him, Odyssey will roll with it. "Your friends must be the life of the party!"

Bellona snorts in laughter at this joke, glancing over her shoulder at where her two friends walk. "Those two? Nah, they're too busy paying attention to each other."

"That's how Irene and Ajax are," Odyssey chuckles as he nods in the direction of his friends. Bellona laughs a little too, leaving Odyssey a little surprised by how well his plan is working out to prove to Kat they can get along. "So-"

Odyssey cuts off when he sees a pair walking towards them, making any trace of a smile disappear from his face. "Oh great," he mutters, really not wanting to ruin the amazing night he's had dealing with Crius _still_ being bitter that he didn't beat Odyssey for the volunteer spot.

"Hey Bell, why are you wasting your time with this prissy boy?" Crius calls to Bellona, making Odyssey clench his fists in anger. He keeps his gaze straight ahead, confident in who he is and not letting any pathetic boys tell him otherwise.

"We're not friends, Crius, so don't call me Bell," she answers Crius and Odyssey can see her glancing over at him out of the corner of his eye as he keeps his gaze ahead, refusing to acknowledge Crius.

Great, Crius is going to come here and ruin everything he started building with Bellona tonight. And then he's going to lose his chance to volunteer and he'll never make it to the Capitol and become famous doing what he loves.

"You're wasting your time with him," Crius continues to say, seemingly unbothered by Bellona shutting him down. "Why don't you hang out with a real man instead?"

Bellona lets out a harsh laugh at this as Odyssey clenches his fist, refusing to stoop down to Crius' pathetic level. He's just looking for a confrontation and he's not going to give it to him. "Surely you can't be talking about yourself."

Odyssey glances over at Bellona at that comment, surprised to see her defending him. Maybe she was genuine about having fun tonight. Or maybe she's just serious about volunteering. He looks over at Crius, finding his sister Clio standing behind him, looking unhappy about this situation. Odyssey can hear his friends catching up with them as Crius gets a smug look on his face at having Odyssey's attention. "Well I'm certainly not talking about _Venus_ ," he spits out the name like it's the worst slur and Odyssey is nearly seconds away from saying something to him, despite his intense dislike of conflict. "She grew up with so many women and no testosterone that it's no wonder he turned out so gay and dresses like a pathetic little girl."

Before Odyssey can even open his mouth to respond, Bellona has jumped forward, striking Crius in his smug face. He clutches his nose as it rapidly starts bleeding, making Odyssey start grinning at Bellona's reaction. "The only 'pathetic little girl' here is you."

Clio starts dragging her brother away from them as he starts cursing at them, looking apologetic at the two volunteers as their friends all catch up to them.

Odyssey turns to Bellona, raising an eyebrow in surprise that she defended him and slowly starts to grin. "You know, Bellona? I think this is the start of a great victory for District Two."

* * *

 _Flannery Escouvier, 49, Escort for District Two_

Leading up to today, Flannery had been excited about returning to District Two. She loves the District and its victors, many of which she has aided in bringing them back home and she even considers her friends. But stepping back onto the stage for a Quarter Quell has brought back memories of the last one, back when she was much younger and still naïve about the tributes.

She had been lucky then to have a victor return home to Two that time. But she still remembers the lose that came with Glacia's victory. Flannery can only hope that this Quell will bring home another victor for Two but with less heartache.

Flannery takes a look back at the victors, finding the previous Quell victor easily among them, holding on to her daughter tightly and staring down at the stage. The escort almost goes over and hugs her, but protocols exist for a reason and she will not take any chance of upsetting the Capitol. Not when they showed with Chic that they aren't afraid to fire the escorts if they're not behaving properly.

Flannery just wants to make it through this year before she finally decides to retire. And hopefully District Two will give her one last victor.

Flannery takes a deep breath before forcing a smile on her face, trying to forget the memories of the last Quell. That was a different Games and she will have better odds this time with volunteers allowed like normal. Even the atmosphere in the crowd is so different from then, a tense excitement buzzing through them in anticipation for their volunteers. Flannery had heard rumors from talking to Jory about the tributes and how Kat trained them, only making her more hopeful for their victory.

But hope can be dangerous.

"Good morning, District Two!" Flannery says with partially fake cheer, pausing to let the crowd applaud loudly and welcome her back. Their enthusiasm towards her has her smile growing more genuine with each second, reminding her once more that it's a new year. "After many years here, you should know by now that I'm Flannery Escouvier, your escort once more!"

Flannery's smile falters slightly at that statement, despite the crowd cheering for her. She's going to truly miss them next year but…all good things have to end. "I have high hopes for us that this year we will bring home another Quarter Quell victor to sit on this stage next year with whichever escort is so lucky enough to take my place…"

The crowd is slow to react to her words and she watches the disappointment start to spread across their faces. Flannery can't stand to see them growing upset over her so she clasps her hands together, knowing this is the last time she'll do this. "Now, let us celebrate the tributes who will fight and earn the title of victor of the Sixth Quarter Quell!"

The cheers return as Flannery strides over to the first glass sphere, knowing from decades of being her that it's a waste of her time to carefully choose a name. District Two has only once failed to give volunteers since she's been here and that was because they were forbidden. She returns back to the microphone, waiting to see who will be the first volunteer step out from the crowd. "Okay the first tribute is Eliza Drea."

Flannery just cannot fully bring herself to be excited as the girl makes her way towards the stage. Not when she knows this is her last time being part of the Reaping. "Welcome, Eliza," Flannery says softly when the girl reaches the stage, both of them knowing she won't be up here for long. "Now are there any volunteers?"

"I volunteer!"

 _There's the first one._ Flannery squints to gaze out into the crowd, not having to struggle too hard before she finds the girl leaving the front section, shoulders back and head held high as she approaches the stage. Her dark brown hair is pulled back into a bun, showing off her eyes that scan over the crowd, observing them all and almost daring anyone to try and challenge her for the right to be there. When she reaches the stage, Flannery has to look down at her, but she finds herself genuinely smiling once more. The girl reminds the escort of her friend and Quell victor. "Welcome and what is your name?"

"Bellona Silvanus," she answers confidently, grinning out at the crowd when someone in the front shouts up at the stage, "Go Bell!"

"Excellent," Flannery mutters, pleased so far with the odds of victory from District Two. "Now, how about we see who will be joining you?"

"Oh I already know," Bellona answers, still with that confident smile on her face and giving the crowd a wink at this, making them laugh happily at her.

 _Oh Flannery is going to miss this place so much._

Flannery tries to push back her sadness once more, distracting herself by going to the glass sphere on the opposite side of the stage. But she hesitates to pick one of the pieces of paper, knowing it's the last time she'll do this, even if it doesn't make a difference here. But still, she wants to make it count.

She selects one and slowly returns back to the microphone, delaying the inevitable, even if she absolutely hates falling behind schedule. "And our second tribute is… Davin Clearwater."

An eighteen year old steps forward, looking as if he doesn't have any training. But based on the lack of fear in his eyes, Flannery knows there will be someone that steps forward to volunteer. "And…one last time… Are there any volunteers?"

A few seconds pass, surprising Flannery just a little before a strong voice calls out, "I volunteer as tribute!"

The boy that steps out from the front has a confident grin as he looks at the crowd, waving to them as he approaches the stage, not looking at all like he waited to volunteer because he was hesitant. He's well-dressed but his dirty blond hair won't stay put, getting tousled in the wind as he climbs the steps onto the stage. When he reaches the stage, he gives the crowd a salute before turning to face Bellona and Flannery, huge grin on his face. "Hey Bell, good to see you up here."

"You too," she answers, confident smile still on her face at seeing him.

The boy holds out a hand to Flannery, giving her a smile that probably makes lots of people his age swoon. "Odyssey Gunderson."

Flannery shakes his hand, smiling again thanks to his infectious good mood. She takes a good look at the two of them, having a gut feeling about these two that she doesn't get often. They're going to be different than most years. Kat really did everything to make sure District Two gets another Quell victor.

"Well District Two," Flannery starts, having to pause when she feels her voice wanting to crack at the realization this is her last time doing this. "Your two tributes this year are Bellona Silvanus and Odyssey Gunderson." Flannery lets the crowd cheer louder than she's heard them in many years as the two shake hands in front of her. When they start to quiet down, she takes one good look out at the District, really hoping she'll return with a victor this year. "And…may the odds be ever in your favor."

* * *

 **I had way too much fun with this chapter so very big thank yous to Dreamer and mistycharming for Odyssey and Bell respectively! I love getting to have the tributes connected prior to the Games and these two have a fun dynamic already that I'm really looking forward to developing more!**

 **I'll clear things up on Odyssey just to make sure there is no confusion: he identifies as male and uses he/him pronouns, but he enjoys being creative and expressing himself as a drag queen, Venus, and that is when he uses she/her pronouns.**

 **So what did you think of these two? Will they be able to keep working well together in the Games or end up working as poorly as Decima and Coeus last year? Do you think my girl Flannery will get one last victor before she decides to retire? And what do you think about the victors seen here (I just love my D2 victors lol)?**

 **Alrighty, I'll see you next time in District Three!**


	7. District 3: Losses and Gains

**Note: This chapter is angsty so you might not want to read it in public.**

* * *

 **Chapter 3:**

 _District Three_

 _Calvin 'Cal' Tailor, 18_

 _Six Years Before The Reaping_

Cal just simply couldn't believe the words he was hearing. He refused to believe them. It was as if he was hearing them from a distance as his ears start ringing and the world goes out of focus. But still, Claudia Flickerman's words get through to him, making his chest feel tight as he starts breathing rapidly. Surely she's lying…there has to be a mistake. Someone else's cannon fired instead.

There's simply no way that the face showing on the screen now next to a very large '5th' that just taunts him is his brother…

"No…" Cal whispers, unable to take his eyes away from the screen as Claudia keeps talking. "They're showing the wrong face!"

"In fifth place, we have Bishop Tailor, who died of a combination of dehydration and starvation-"

"NO!" His mother wails, throwing the remote at the screen, causing it to crack, but still showing Bishop's face as the hovercraft appeared to take him away. His mother screams in pain, clutching on to his father desperately as sobs rip through her.

But all Cal can do is stare at the cracked screen, feeling himself growing numb as he stares. This can't be happening…there's no way Bishop is dead… "He was just sleeping," Cal mutters to himself as the screen starts to blur. He slowly raises a hand to brush something off of his cheek, staring down at his wet fingers in confusion for a few seconds. "Why are they taking him away when he's still alive?"

"Cal…" A tiny voice says next to him, pulling on his sleeve until Cal looks down at his younger brother, finding tears on his tiny face. "They're taking Bishop away. Is he coming home?"

At this question from Indy, their mother runs out of the room. Their father stares at the two young boys for a few seconds before turning to run after his wife, calling after her. "Polly!"

Cal stares at them, watching his parents leave them when they need someone to tell them it will be alright… Someone to hug them and let them know they'll somehow be safe from the Reapings, even if they both have years to go before they're safe…

Indy lets out a tiny sob next to him and Cal pulls his brother into a tight hug, not wanting to let go of him as his chest shakes with tears he doesn't want to let fall in front of Indy. His brother is only eight and already had to lose one older brother… Cal holds on to Indy tighter when he realizes something that makes him feel sick. Bishop won't be around anymore to protect Indy, to teach him how to be brave, to play with him despite having friends his age he could hang out with. They both lost their older brother and protector…

"No, Indy," Cal says softly, hating that he can hear his voice cracking from tears he's trying to hold in. "Bishop isn't coming home."

* * *

One week later, the train returned home to their District to no celebration, unlike the train returning home to District Seven with their new victor. That should have been happening here…they should have been celebrating Bishop becoming the victor…not waiting for his lifeless body.

The only other people waiting at the train station with them was the family of Bishop's District partner. But unlike his family, they were not ignoring the small girl sobbing who couldn't have been much older than Indy…

Cal's parents barely acknowledged him and Indy, instead staring at the wooden boxes being taken off the train to the hearse to be prepared for the funeral that evening. Cal kept his head held high, refusing to let Indy see him crying right now as he holds on to his crying brother. He has to be the older brother now for Indy, setting an example for him. And it's clear that their parents are not going to be comforting Indy.

Cal kept his eyes dry the entire drive to the funeral home, holding on to Indy just like his father does with their mother. They had barely spoken to each other since the cannon had fired for Bishop and Cal didn't know what to do to change this.

He kept his eyes dry as they entered the funeral home, but when he had to finally face the open casket, he couldn't hold back the tears any longer. No matter what he told himself he needed to do for Indy, he couldn't stop the tears from seeing Bishop's lifeless body in the casket, looking so peaceful. If he tried hard enough, he could almost pretend that Bishop was just sleeping…he would wake up soon and tell them all it was just a joke. A sick, twisted joke, but at least he would still be alive…

At the sight of Bishop's body, his mother starts screaming, the first thing Cal has heard from her since the night Bishop died. "No! I can't look at him!" She yells as his father tries to hold on to her as she tears herself away from his grip. She backs away from them as Indy reaches out to Cal, clutching onto him as they watch their mother shake her head. "I can't do this! I can't bury my oldest son." She turns her gaze over to Cal, regret filling her eyes as she stares at her now oldest son. "I-I-I'm sorry, I can't do this. I'm not strong enough to do this…"

Cal can only stare in shock as he watches his mother leave the funeral home, pushing past his aunt and uncle as they walk in, faces somber as they prepare to see Bishop. Cal tightens his hold on Indy, feeling protectiveness growing in him along with anger towards his mother. How could she just leave them when they need her the most? When they need their mother to tell them things will be alright?

"She'll be back," Cal whispers to Indy, running his hand over his younger brother's hair in an attempt to sooth him. "She has to come back…"

But Cal's mother did not return to the funeral. She didn't return to their family at all.

* * *

A month after Bishop's funeral, Cal still had not forgiven his mother for abandoning them. Abandoning them when her sons needed their mother the most. Cal doesn't think he can ever forgive her for what she did…not being strong enough to raise her two sons that are still living…

His father has done his best with Cal and Indy since the day she left, but Cal can see the struggles on his face and in the heavy sighs he lets out often around the two young boys. He can see that inside, his father feels hollow and numb, just going through the motions of being a father. Rivet Tailor had clearly never intended to raise two boys on his own, forcing Cal to step in. Cal made sure every day that Indy was up and ready for school. He made sure he had all of his meals. And he made sure that he was there at night when Indy was afraid to go to sleep and face the nightmares of losing Bishop all over again.

But it wasn't enough.

Cal was weary when his father brought them to go see their aunt and uncle, but Indy seemed excited about something for the first time since Bishop was reaped, so he didn't say anything. But he ignores the way his father refuses to make eye contact with Cal as they walk up to their relatives' door. Before they reach it, the door opens, revealing their aunt that Indy runs up to so he can hug them, "Aunt Angora!"

"Hi Indy," she says as she returns the hug, but her face stays hesitant as she watches Cal approach. "Hi Cal…come inside."

"Hello," Cal answers quietly, hesitant to walk in from not knowing why their father is taking them to visit his relatives. They're not the closest but they had helped out a little since Bishop died… At the doorway, Cal turns back around to find his father standing a few feet away, refusing to make eye contact with Cal, making his stomach twist from the look on his father's face. "Aren't you coming inside?"

It takes a while for his father to respond, making Cal's heartrate quicken out of fear. His father has never been this hesitant to tell them something before and it's making him nervous. "No…" his father finally brings his eyes up to meet Cal's, filled with guilt that makes Cal start shaking his head right away. "I've tried but I can't raise two boys on my own…"

"You're leaving us?" Cal asks in disbelief, feeling his eyes start welling with tears that he stubbornly tries to keep from falling. "How can you do that?"

"Angora and Chintz will take care of you and Indy," his father continues, ignoring Cal's questions. His face shows a flash of pain as Indy grabs on to Cal at this, but yet he still keeps going. "I tried to be strong enough to do this on my own but I just can't… I hope you forgive me someday."

"No," Cal answers, shaking his head at his father – no, he's not a true father. A real parent wouldn't abandon them like this… "I can't forgive you!"

Cal grabs on to Indy, pulling him inside and ignoring Rivet calling out for them. He made his choice and now Cal is making his… Both of his parents weren't strong enough to raise them after losing Bishop… He hugs his younger brother tightly, unable to hold back his tears anymore from his parents abandoning them. How could they do that? "Indy… I'm never abandoning you."

"P-pr-promise?" Indy gets out through sobs, making Cal hold him even tighter. How could they do this to an eight year old? Haven't the two boys gone through enough pain already?

"I promise," Cal tells him, knowing this is one promise he refuses to break. "I'm going to be strong enough to protect us."

* * *

 _Amelia Fensa, 18_

 _Five Months Before The Reaping_

For the first time in months, Amelia finally felt _something_. It terrifies her a little to be feeling this anxious and worried, and yet…she had been starting to think that she was just going to be numb forever. Just going through the motions of life, never finding any joy from anything again.

Today, she finally feels something again and it feels _good_.

But as she sits on the couch, as far from her parents as possible, she can't stop the fear creeping up in her that they'll say a different name on the TV for who was chosen from District Six for the new program. For the last month, all she did was focus on this application, pouring herself into it to avoid thinking of the empty hole in her chest. All because she made a promise to someone that she would try. She promised that she would try to get her grades up and she did. Somehow, her teachers let her complete extra projects to raise up her failing grades.

She finally had something to focus on for the last month. And somehow, she wants to someday thank Clark for making her promise to try… Promise to try for Aero…

Amelia glances at the empty spot next to her on the couch as the Presidential Seal appears on the TV. Aero should have been sitting there with her, holding her hand as they anxiously await the announcement. There to cheer for her if she makes it or reassure her that she'll still do great things if she doesn't make it.

She can feel her eyes stinging with tears that she discretely tries to wipe away before her parents can see and start another argument. The President is blurry on the screen as she blinks quickly, trying to focus on this and not Aero… _Why couldn't it have been any other boy from District Six?_

"Good evening, Panem," President Xavier starts, smiling at the camera from in his office before glancing down at the piece of paper in front of him. The paper that will either give her something to live for or completely crush her dreams. "I am very pleased to be announcing tonight the twenty-two children from across the Districts that will be attending the very first summer program at District Three University. The chance to travel to a new District is a monumental event for these children and I am proud that they will be doing it to better themselves and make Panem a better nation."

"Why do you look so nervous?" Her father asks her as President Xavier pauses, staring down at his list. "You should have applied for that, if you hadn't still been moping around over the loss of your brother. It's been seven months, Amelia."

"Shhh," Amelia says as the President clears his throat, trying to ignore the comment about Aero so she doesn't start yet another argument with them… Her throat is still raw from screaming at them yesterday. But as she watches the screen, she can feel the anxiety creeping up in her. Maybe she should have told them that she applied for the program…but she didn't want to disappoint anyone else if she wasn't good enough. She already might be disappointing Clark… It's terrifying her that it could have all been for nothing and she might not even be chosen.

"From District One… Adrian Mattiacci and Estella Ames. From District Two… Richelle Kincaid and Kane Savett. From District Three… Roland Clarke and Lani Thornton. From District Four… Tobias Cantor and Aryan DeLorenz. From District Five… Bryn Foley and Charlotte Lyons."

It almost feels like the President pauses when he reaches District Six and Amelia can feel her throat tightening in fear that he isn't about to say her name. Why would he? There were probably hundreds of people that applied in District Six. They won't take her…

"From District Six… Nikolaj Hansen and Amelia Fensa."

"What?"

Amelia can only stare at the screen in shock, ignoring her parents staring over at her. She's in disbelief as she listens to the President announce the students from District Seven, "Caragh Monaghan and Rory Esslemont."

 _Did he really say Amelia Fensa?_

"From District Eight… Calvin Tailor and Oona Konrad."

 _He really did… Surely there aren't any other Amelia Fensa's in District Six, right?_

"From District Nine… Syed Irion and Rosa Zharim."

 _No, there's no one else with her name here._

"From District Ten… Tami Vasquez and Devin Brzycki."

 _They really picked her._

"And from District Eleven… Sibel Almiron and Kovarro Alavi." The screen shifts to have the President on one half and the list of all the student on the other half. And there's her name, clearly written under District Six. "Congratulations to everyone that was selected to be part of this monumental program."

 _She's going to District Three._

As the broadcast ends, shifting back to the Presidential Seal, all Amelia can do is stare at the screen in shock. She honestly hadn't thought they would actually accept her into the program… Why would they want the broken girl to be part of the very first time group of people that get to travel to a different District? She wasn't anything special… _But someone must have thought she is something._

"Why didn't you tell us?" Her mother asks, almost sounding hurt that Amelia hid this from them. "We could have helped you apply."

"I didn't want to disappoint anyone else!" Amelia bursts out, unable to control the anger that is always there in her, just waiting to be let out these days towards her parents. They always made her accomplishments about them and never credit her with actually doing the work, and she's tired of it. She just wants to do something for herself for once.

"Amelia…" Her father starts and she can just tell immediately from his tone that she's going to hate whatever he says next. "You've never been a disappointment to us… You've always been the successful child."

"Stop!" Amelia shouts at them, feeling her eyes forming tears from her anger at them. "Don't ruin this one thing I finally did for myself! How can you always say that about Aero? Your own son is _dead_ and you still talk about him being a 'disappointment' or 'never as good as me'. But he was! He was just as smart as me but you refused to see it! He died knowing that you two never loved him-"

Amelia is suddenly cut off by the phone ringing and all three of them stare over at the phone in tense silence. "It's probably for you," her mother sighs at this, shaking her head at Amelia yelling at them. "You're now famous."

Amelia wants to keep arguing with them, but knows it might be someone important calling about the program. So she jumps up from the couch and runs over to the phone, picking it up just before the last ring. "Hello?" She asks, clearing her throat at how rough and raw her voice sounds.

No one says anything for a few seconds and Amelia is about to hang up the phone when a tiny voice speaks up, surprising her completely. "Amelia?"

Amelia stands there in shock for a few seconds, never having expected the person on the other end to be calling her. "Clark?" She asks, seeing the surprised looks on her parents' faces and quickly leaving the room, not wanting them eavesdropping on this conversation. She suddenly doesn't know what to say to him, despite knowing for weeks now that she wants to thank him for motivating her.

"Yeah…" the victor answers softly and Amelia can hear some barking in the background. "Bjark, not right now," Clark says to the puppy, making Amelia barely start smiling. "I… you did it."

"I did," Amelia says quietly as it finally starts sinking in that she made it into the program… In just a couple months, she'll be traveling to a brand new District and studying what she loves, or at least, what she did before she found it hard to find any happiness. "Thank you."

Clark is silent for a few seconds, leaving Amelia to stare at the wall of family pictures in front of her. Tears start quietly falling down her cheeks as she stares at a picture of her and Aero when they were little kids. He should have been here to celebrate this with her. "For what?"

"For giving me something to look forward to," Amelia answers, hearing her voice wavering because of the tears.

"I'm proud of you," Clark says softly, so softly she barely hears him. But his words make her joke out a sob at this because all she's wanted was to thank him and let him know what he did for her. "And… Aero would be proud of you too."

Amelia shuts her eyes at this statement, able to picture exactly how Aero would have reacted to the announcement. He would have hugged her immediately and probably made some stupid joke that would have made her laugh so hard that she snorted. But he's not here…he's gone and all that remains are the memories surrounding her in this house, always reminding her that he's gone, taken away from her by the Games.

"Amelia?"

"I'm still here," she shakily says, barely able to hold in her sobs anymore. She's still here after all these months of pain and times when she almost wished she was dead so she could be with Aero… She's still here and living, which is what Aero would want her to be doing. "And I know he would have been so proud of me."

* * *

 _Calvin 'Cal' Tailor_

 _Three Months Before The Reaping_

Cal couldn't stop the nagging feeling that he had abandoned Indy to do this. Even if Indy had supported him – even being the one to tell him in the first place that he should apply for the program in Three – he still feels like he just left Indy behind in Eight. Just like their parents did years ago…

But the nagging feeling could just be because he wants to leave this party already. He came to District Three to give himself the best education possible so he can keep growing. To give him the best chance at getting the best job possible so he can keep protecting Indy and give him the comfortable life their parents took away. He certainly didn't come here to do tons of interviews and take an absurd amount of press pictures.

Cal had done a good job of avoiding talking to the other people in the program, staying off to the side of the party and watching the people mingle. He was just waiting for the right time to excuse himself so he can return to his room and study for the rest of the night. Or maybe he'll head to the gym. The gym they showed off on the tour earlier was way nicer than anything he has ever used before. Either way, it would be a better use of his time than just standing around here.

Cal holds back a yawn from staying up too late last night, unable to sleep at first from feeling like he abandoned Indy, but then because he started reading the new textbooks they were all given. He isn't going to waste any time here making himself stronger. It's what Indy deserves.

"Hey there."

Cal raises an eyebrow at the cheery voice before raising both eyebrows when he sees the girl that spoke. He even glances around him, because surely the girl from One isn't talking to him. But there's no one else around, meaning surely she's talking to him. "Um…hi."

She leans against the wall next to him, letting out a sigh before taking a sip of her drink. They stare out at the other party guests for a minute in silence with Cal avoiding looking over at the girl. Why is she even bothering to come talk to him? He just wants to be left alone so he can leave soon. "I'm so tired of talking to people. I can't even remember the names of all the people in the program." The girl chuckles at this and Cal briefly glances over at her before turning away, even more clueless on why she's talking to him. Like seriously, this girl looks as if she just left the training academy in One. Why is she talking to him? "I'm Estella Ames. District One."

"I know," Cal answers before feeling his cheeks heating up in embarrassment when her smile falters slightly at his assumption. Real smooth, Cal, real smooth. "I mean, I…uh…remember from all the press and announcements. Not because you look like you're from District One – I mean, you do but-"

Cal shuts himself up at this, chugging half of his drink to keep himself busy so he doesn't make more of a fool of himself. He's off to a great first impression with people in the program. But does he even want to become friends with these people? They'll just get in his way of studying and he can't do that… He can't be anything less than perfect.

"Well, nice talking to you, I have to go," Cal says quickly before leaving Estella behind, trying not to see her look of disappointment. Bianca always told him back home that he's terrible at talking to new people and if she was here now, well, Cal is certain his girlfriend would be reminding him of this.

Against his better judgement, Cal briefly glances back to see the disappointed look on Estella's face, making him feel guilty as he turns around to watch where he's going. Why should he feel guilty about leaving? He didn't come here to make friends with people. He came here to be his best self so he can help Indy… Cal can't waste the energy in being worried for her. She'll just have to make a different friend in the program. He's sure she'll be fine at that.

Cal tries to stick to the wall of the conference room, hoping to stay unnoticed as he makes his way towards the door. He almost makes it there before someone calls his name, making him curse under his breath.

"Calvin, are you leaving?"

Cal stops in his tracks, surprised at the person calling to him and also a little annoyed at the use of his full name. But not that he would tell the President of Panem this. He slowly turns around, finding President Xavier smiling over at him with the girl from Seven nervously standing next to him, picking at her fingers and glancing around anxiously. "Yes, sir, I was about to head up to my room so I can get ready for class tomorrow."

"Ah, I'm glad to see you're just as studious as you mentioned in your personal statement," President Xavier chuckles at this as Cal raises his eyebrows in surprise at the President knowing information from his personal statement. Well, he's also completely surprised that the President of Panem is even talking to him, let alone knows his name. He's still giving Cal a genuine smile and he recognizes the opportunity to better himself. Maybe he could even get the chance to work in the Capitol if the President knows him. He's sure Indy would love to move to the Capitol someday… While he would love to head back to his room, it would be dumb to leave right now. "Do you think you can spare a few minutes from studying so I can talk to you?"

"Of course, sir," Cal answers and makes his way over to the President of Panem, straightening out his jacket to look more impressive.

President Xavier turns to the girl next to him, someone who's name Cal has already forgotten. "Thank you, Caragh, for taking the time to talk to me. And best of luck with your studies."

Caragh quickly nods her head at this before darting away from the President, but not before Cal can see the anxious look in her eyes. But Cal doesn't focus on her for long. Not when he has the attention of the President of Panem. He holds out his hand, standing up straight and trying to smile charmingly like Bishop used to do. "Cal Tailor, sir. And I'd like to say thank you for the opportunity to study in District Three and better myself."

"I'm very pleased to have studious people here like yourself," President Xavier answers as he shakes Cal's hand firmly, completely focusing on Cal and surprising him. He didn't expect the President to care so much about some random person from District Eight. "I remember your essay and how you are focused on improving yourself for your brother Indy, correct? And I do wish to express my apologies for the loss of your brother Bishop, even if it was years ago. It's tragic to lose a brother to the Games and I already expressed my condolences to Amelia."

"Yes…" Cal says softly, eyebrows raised in surprise that President Xavier knows this information. No one ever remembers Bishop… Why would they remember the boy who died in fifth from natural causes? No, they were too busy focusing on Caladium, the victor of those Games. But Cal never forgot about Bishop. "Forgive me for asking, sir, but how do you know this?"

"I personally picked all of the students here," President Xavier gestures around at the room, a look of pride on his face at the people gathered from across Panem. When his gaze returns to Cal, the look is still there, catching Cal by surprise. It's been so many years since anyone has been proud of something he's accomplished… "Implementing this program and the other universities is something I've been working on for years so I have been part of every step of the process. I truly want this program to succeed and improve the country. And I believe every one of you here will do something great. That's why I chose all of you."

"I'm trying, sir," Cal answers, looking around the room at the other students here. All of them have reasons to be here, reasons probably very similar to Cal's. Yet none of them have gone through the pain he's experienced and picked themselves back up. Well…his eyes land on one girl, sitting awkwardly in the corner as one of the older victors, Isidore, tries to talk to her. Amelia's eyes are red from tears, a look Cal is all too familiar with seeing in Indy's eyes. There's one person who knows what he went through.

Yet she hasn't picked herself up like Cal. She hasn't found the strength to move on and improve herself. But he can't spend the time here helping her through the pain of losing her brother. Not when Indy is counting on him back home in Eight.

"Sir, I promise you that you won't be disappointed in what I will accomplish someday."

* * *

 _Amelia Fensa_

 _Two Months Before The Reaping_

Amelia had thought this was supposed to be a new opportunity. A chance to finally figure herself out, to pick up the broken pieces left behind after Aero's death, and put them back together into something at least somewhat resembling the girl she was a year ago. But one month into the program and she still feels the crushing depression every day from losing Aero to the Games.

She's still broken, just in a new District. But hey, at least her parents aren't here to argue with her all the time. That's one nice thing about the program.

The door to her dorm suite opens and Amelia glances up from staring at her untouched mug of tea that went cold a while ago. Tami jumps a little in surprise at seeing Amelia sitting at the table in the common area. "Hi Amelia," she says softly as she kicks off her shoes before walking over to Amelia. She sets down her heavy bag on the table before throwing herself into the chair. "I didn't expect to see you out here."

Amelia sighs at this, picking up her tea and considering taking a sip, before setting it down and pushing it away. She didn't want to be sitting out here. She would much rather be in her room, hiding from the others. But she had the misfortune of sharing a room with one of the most extroverted girls in the program. "Richelle kicked me out of the room, claiming she had some surprise planned."

"Sounds like it will be bad for us," Tami answers and Amelia lets out a tiny chuckle at this, surprising herself at the sound. Even Tami looks a little surprised to hear laughter coming from Amelia. She isn't sure if she's laughed at all since the Games happened…

Amelia stares down at the table, trying to avoid the look of concern from Tami. She hates seeing it from everyone here. Everyone knows what happened to her, yet no one will ever bring it up to her… She just wants _someone_ to care enough to ask if she's okay, even if her answer will be that she's not and hasn't been in months.

The bedroom door slams open, making both girls at the table jump in shock before turning towards the door. Amelia raises an eyebrow at Richelle strutting out, hands on her hips before she points at the two of them. The girl from Two is quite the girl and could easily take on both of them in a fight at the same time and not even sweat. But right now, a fight is the last thing she looks ready to do. If anything, she looks like she's ready to go partying… "Alright, I'm staging an intervention!"

Amelia and Tami share a scared look at this, neither of the girls wanting to be involved in whatever Richelle might have planned. "Please don't make me dress like that," Tami squeaks out, making Richelle laugh loudly at her fear of being dressed in a similar revealing outfit.

"You're not the one that needs an intervention, but I'm still making you join us," Richelle shakes her head as she walks over to the table, swinging a chair around before sitting down, resting her elbows on the back of the chair. "Hey Caragh, I know you're in that room! Get out here!"

Amelia tries to ignore the way Richelle is staring at her as they wait for Caragh, knowing that Richelle is talking about having an intervention with her. She doesn't need one…she just needs someone to care about her enough to ask if she's okay or to give her something to keep living for.

"What?" Caragh asks, letting her annoyance trickle into her tone as she closes the door behind her louder than necessary. "I'm trying to talk to my family back home."

"We're going out," Richelle answers, wiggling her eyebrows when Amelia groans at the thought of leaving the dorm room. "Come on, Amelia, you can't stay cooped up in here all summer! We're in a new District! When are we ever going to get the chance to explore a new District like this again?"

"Hopefully in the next four years if we're accepted to study here for our degree," Tami speaks up, stating the obvious answer, but from the look Richelle gives her, it wasn't the answer she wanted.

"I don't want to go out," Amelia shakes her head at the girl from Two, trying to ignore the way she's staring at her with a look of pity. "I just want to be left alone…"

No one says anything for a few seconds after this, which Amelia expected. No one ever wants to talk about her pain. No one ever wants to try and help her.

"Look," Richelle speaks up and Amelia looks over at her, blinking a few times to clear her eyes that have started to blur with tears. "I'm sorry you had to lose Aero. It fucking sucks to lose a sibling. I lost my older sister a few years ago and didn't even get to say goodbye because she was off being a Peacekeeper in Seven."

All of them are stunned into silence at this new information. Amelia didn't know that her roommate had gone through something so similar to her… Richelle seems so normal though and not…broken. "How did you…"

"How did I pick myself up?" Richelle finishes and Amelia nods her head. Richelle shrugs at this and sadness pass over her face for a few seconds before she is back to grinning at Amelia. "I didn't let myself stay inside all day, moping around. I forced myself to get out there and see people. And slowly, you start to realize there are people that won't let you stay broken."

Richelle suddenly stands up as Amelia is left to slowly realize what the girl means. Is she trying to do the same for her? "Now come on, we're going out with some of the other 18 year olds to the bar. We're going to get you drunk. Or laid." Richelle considers this for a moment as Amelia stares up at her with wide eyes. "Maybe both."

"Preferably not in that order," Caragh speaks up, getting a scoff of laughter from Tami. Amelia would have chuckled too, if she wasn't petrified at the thought of going out with a group of people and having to pretend that she's fine. "You guys have fun, I promised my parents I would talk to them tonight."

"Fine, you party pooper!" Richelle calls after Caragh as she heads back to her room, but her loud laughter shows she isn't mad at Caragh. But when she looks back at Amelia, her laughter quickly fades. "Come on, Amelia, I promise this will be good for you." Richelle pauses to wiggle her eyebrows at her, smirk on her face. "Adrian and Estella are going. I've seen the way you look at them."

Amelia feels her cheeks heating up at this, surprising herself at feeling embarrassed by Richelle noticing that. "Well yeah, they're from One. They're both gorgeous."

"Isn't that the truth," Richelle laughs loudly again, making the faintest of smiles form on Amelia's face. When Richelle notices, she gives Amelia a genuine smile, making her feel like her roommates do care about her… "Come on, I'll get you ready."

Amelia sighs loudly at this, but despite wanting to stay inside the dorm, a tiny part of her wants to go out with the group. She wants to feel like she belongs to something. "Do I have a choice?"

"No."

"Fine," Amelia answers, acting annoyed but feeling the faintest hint of excitement in her. And it's something she wants to keep feeling after months of not having anything to look forward to. "But just one drink and I'm _not_ sleeping with anyone."

* * *

Amelia should have stayed in. She clutches her one drink, barely having had any of it, sitting to the side and watching as Richelle dominates the conversation. For a brief bit of time, she had thought this would be a good opportunity for her to feel again, but now she's only feeling disappointment and loneliness at being excluded.

"Hey, you doing alright?"

Amelia glances up in surprise at Adrian returning from the bar, holding another beer for himself and smiling nervously at her. She is glad the bar is dim so he can't see her face surely turning red in embarrassment by the way he's looking at her. She shrugs as he sits down next to her, still looking at her in concern. "Do you want the lie or the honest answer?"

"Honest answer," Adrian answers, surprising her once again. She turns her gaze away from him, taking a sip of her drink to avoid answering right away. She hadn't expected that response from him. Hell, she hadn't expected him to talk to her at all.

"Not really," Amelia finally responds to him, letting out a heavy sigh as she fights again to hold in her tears. She doesn't want this boy to see her so weak and just broken at someone asking if she's alright. "I haven't been alright since the Games."

"But you're here," Adrian says softly, so softly Amelia can barely hear him over the music and Richelle's laughter. She glances back up at him, finding him leaning closer so he can be heard. "You were accepted into this program and that's something to be proud of."

Amelia nods her head at this, looking away again as she's reminded of what Clark told her. Of how Clark made her promise to apply for Aero. "I did it for him."

She looks back over at him, finding him not looking confused by who she's talking about. "Well you should keep doing it now for yourself. He wouldn't want to see you sad when you're surrounded by friends."

"We're friends?" Amelia asks softly, smiling just a little when she sees Adrian nervously look away from her.

"Well, I'd like to think we're friends," Adrian responds, awkwardly fidgeting with his beer glass. "And if not, we should change that."

Amelia stares at him for a few seconds before slowly starting to smile, getting a smile in return that shows off a dimple in his left cheek. "Yeah, I think we should change that."

Maybe Richelle was right and going out tonight was a good idea. Maybe she doesn't have to be the girl she was a year ago. Maybe she can be someone else. Maybe she can be someone that is friends with a crazy loud girl from Two, a sweet girl from Ten, and a cute boy from One.

After all, isn't she here for a new opportunity?

* * *

 _Rosalina Silver, Escort for District Three_

Rosalina is so ready for this year. She came so close last year to having her very first victor with Lauris and she is ready to help one of her two tributes win. Well…as long as there's no volunteers like Jarvis this year. She doesn't know if she can handle losing someone like that again.

But the past is the past and she has to be focused on the present. And that present includes not knocking over one of the glass spheres again this year. "Hello District Three!" Rosalina clasps her hands together in front of her, hoping to keep them from breaking anything. Despite being disappointed by the poverty among some of the children in front of her, she still has a smile on her face at being back in District Three. This District is quickly becoming her second home and she isn't sure she wants to be moved. That was the reason she turned down the offer to be promoted to One, feeling like she needs to get Three a victor first before she leaves them. "I'm Rosalina Silver and I'm going to do my best this year not to break anything!"

This gets a small bit of laughter from the crowd, only make Rosalina even happier about being back in District Three. "Well, should we get started?"

Rosalina carefully turns, trying to avoid knocking over the microphone with her gold wings. Once she has successfully turned, she slowly walks to the first glass sphere, all too aware of the mistake she made last year. She takes her time picking a name before glancing over at the victors on the stage, giving them a bashful smile. "I'm trying not to knock it over this year."

Matla doesn't seem convinced by this but Electro cracks a small smile at her, "I'll still be ready to catch it, just in case."

Rosalina chuckles a little as she takes a few steps back before turning, feeling confident when she doesn't knock over the glass sphere. She stops at the microphone, taking a moment to hope for the best tribute possible. Someone that will become a victor. "Okay District Three, the first tribute is-"

She cuts off as she stares down at the piece of paper in her hand, even holding it up closer to her eyes to see that the name there is in fact the one she sees. She nervously glances up at the crowd growing restless at her hesitation before looking back at the paper. "This can't be right…" She mutters to herself but the microphone picks her up, telling the entire District her doubts. She quickly clears her throat, knowing it has to be correct. The Capitol wouldn't do something wrong.

"The female tribute is…" Rosalina trails off, letting out a small sigh as she looks back down at the piece of paper, wishing she didn't recognize the name. Wishing she didn't know already the pain that she will feel from watching her fight in the arena. "Amelia Fensa…"

The crowd immediately starts muttering at this name that they all recognize from the publicity surrounding the university program. All Rosalina can do is stare out, waiting to see the girl step out from the crowd in a District that she doesn't belong to. Amelia's face is blank as she steps out from the front, slowly making her way up to the stage. She hesitates at the bottom of the stairs before letting out a heavy sigh and making her way up to Rosalina.

When Amelia reaches the top of the stage and meets Rosalina's gaze with glossy eyes, Rosalina is hit with the memories of watching Jewel cry when Aero died last year. And now Rosalina might do the same with his sister… She pulls the girl into a brief hug, wishing she didn't pick Amelia's name.

Amelia doesn't return the hug and Rosalina quickly steps back, still finding Amelia's face blank, her eyes numb to what's happening. Damn it, why did Amelia have to be picked? She isn't even from District Three and Rosalina doesn't want to get in trouble for picking one of the kids in the university program.

Aware of the crowd growing restless at Amelia being picked, Rosalina decides to drop all dramatic flair and just get this over with so she can figure out how she's getting Amelia out of the arena alive. She quickly walks to the other sphere, picking the first name she touches, and turns around so fast that her wings smack the sphere harshly, sending it tumbling to the ground. It smashes against the stage, sending glass flying everywhere and making Rosalina stuck where she is, afraid of stepping on a glass shard. "Great, just great!" She says in frustration growing from picking Amelia. Fine, she'll just shout the name from here.

She rips open the piece of paper and finds herself growing frustrated at herself. "The male tribute is… Calvin Tailor?" This absolutely can't be right… _Two_ students?! How?!

 _She's so getting fired for this._

The crowd is filled with anger at this as Calvin is quickly escorted onto the stage by Peacekeepers, the shock on his face being replaced by a steely resolve as he walks up the stairs, carefully avoiding the broken glass.

Calvin surprises Rosalina by walking up to the microphone, hesitating for a moment. "I… please, have faith in me. I may not be from here, but I will do my best to become your next victor."

Calvin's statement sets off the crowd, leaving Rosalina to stand in shock as Peacekeepers start running towards them on the stage. All she can do is stare out in shock at the accusations being yelled at her for something she couldn't control.

"They're not even from here!"

"It was rigged!"

"You can't even protect children from other Districts!"

A Peacekeeper picks up Rosalina, dragging her inside the Justice Building as she's left in shock by the crowd screaming at her. Screaming at her for picking two students from the university program. The two tributes and the victors are all quickly brought inside by Peacekeepers and as Rosalina stares at these two people not much younger than her, her breathing increases as she starts to panic about what just happened. "How? I don't know how this happened! I didn't mean to pick you."

Amelia and Calvin share a strained look before turning back to Rosalina as she feels herself growing lightheaded in fear about the consequences of this Reaping. The President had worked so hard for this program and she might have just ruined it all…

"That's the problem…" Amelia speaks up first and Rosalina stares at her, blinking a few times to gain her focus. "You shouldn't have been able to pick us…"

"What?" Rosalina lets out, the only thing she's capable of speaking right now. She starts feeling lightheaded and quickly sits down on the ground before she ends up fainting from this. "What's going on?"

"We weren't eligible…" Calvin says, staring down at Rosalina on the ground and Amelia nods her head in agreement at this, wrapping her arms around herself as she fights back tears. "The President told us all we were secretly removed from the Reaping pool to prevent this very thing from happening…"

The world spins around Rosalina at this information. If they weren't eligible…how did she pick them? Their names were the ones on the slips of paper, she has no doubt about it. "Oh shit… We have a big problem," Rosalina whispers just before she faints.

* * *

 **Alright we have finally reached the angsty District Three! Big thanks to 4everlark, later. glader, and Golden Moon Huntress for Cal, Amelia, and Rosalina respectively! I know those of you that read Overlooked have all been waiting to see Amelia but I bet you didn't realize Cal would also be angsty for similar reasons! These two made me very angsty writing them so thanks you two for that lol. But I do love writing angst so I also had fun with them!**

 **So what do you think? Are you surprised by them both being part of the D3 University summer program? And how did they end up getting reaped when they weren't supposed to? We'll find out that answer eventually.**

 **Alrighty, next up is D4! I would say it's not angsty, but, we'll, things are going to stay angsty lol. Not every intro can be as fun as D2. I'll see you soon!**


	8. District 4: Family, Duty, Honor

**Trigger warning: anxiety and other mental illnesses in Demarcus' sections.**

* * *

 **Chapter 4:**

 _District Four_

 _Delta Zale, 17_

 _One Year and Two Months Before The Reaping_

It had been over a month now since her father was sent away. One month of returning home every day, hoping to see him standing in the kitchen, joking with her mother as they cook dinner together. One month since she last got to see him smile and joke with her, calling her his little girl despite not being little anymore. Every day for the last month she would give herself the hope that she would see him finally home, ready to give her a hug and she would make him promise never to leave her again.

But Delta knows the truth.

Delta knows that she's never going to see her father alive again. Delta has been part of the group long enough to know that those that get smuggled out of the District to the borderlands surrounding Two never return. But they were sent on "a critical mission to gain invaluable information for the rebels regarding military activity". Yeah right, more like a critical mission to get killed for their disobedience.

She kept telling herself over and over again this fact, hoping that the preparation will stop the pain of getting confirmation, a small note from the rebel leaders of Four saying _'We're so sorry for your loss'_ , which is just complete bullshit. And yet, a dumb part of her still kept holding on to the small sliver of hope that her father won't get killed in one of the most dangerous places for a rebel.

Today was no different.

"Hi Mom," Delta calls out as she closes the front door behind her, trying to feign happiness towards her mother. But…she knows who is to blame here. "Hi Da- oh wait," Delta scowls at this as she starts kicking off her shoes, waiting to hear her mother call back, also pretending that everything is just fine.

But unlike every other day for the last month, she doesn't hear any response from her mother. "Mom?" She calls again as she starts walking to the kitchen, almost able to picture for a minute that she'll see her father in the kitchen, working on cooking dinner and calling out a joke to her about being late from training. But she doesn't see that sight. What she sees is even worse than normal days.

Her mother stares down at the table, tears slowly dripping down onto the surface, barely acknowledging Delta. Slowly she lifts her head up and clutches her hands over her chest as she lets out a sob. When Delta sees the piece of paper in her mother's hands, she can feel her heart breaking despite trying to prepare herself for a month for this. Stupidly she had still held on to a slight bit of hope that he would return home.

Nothing could have prepared her to get news of her father's death.

Delta can't stop the blame that starts coursing through her as she stares at her mother, knowing she did this to their family. "This is all your fault!" Delta screams at her mother, hot tears forcing their way out despite making every effort to hold them back. Delta points at the woman, watching her mother start sobbing at the accusations. "You're the one that leaked classified information and got him sent away!"

"D-Delta," her mother gasps as heavy sobs rake through her while Delta glares over, stubbornly wiping away the tears she doesn't want to cry. "I-I-I did-didn't mean to!"

"But you did!" Delta stomps over, watching her mother cringe away before she rips the piece of paper out of her hands to read what it says for herself. " _It is with deep regrets that we report the death of Marlin Zale. He fought bravely for our cause and we are all mourning the loss of him._ " Delta crumples up the piece of paper before throwing it at the garbage can. "What a bunch of bullshit! They didn't care about him at all! They just cared that you leaked information."

"They did care about him," her mother feebly tries to say in defense of the group that Delta is starting to wish they were never part of. Yeah the Capitol is fucked up for having the Games, but she doubts they would send a father out to his certain death for a mistake his wife made.

"Stop lying to yourself and stop lying to me," Delta shakes her head, still glaring at the woman sitting in front of her. "You know what? Fuck the rebels! Fuck everything they stand for! And fuck the assholes in charge that decided to send Dad to his death!"

Delta storms off at this, refusing to look back at the woman calling after her as she throws open the door to their backyard overlooking the beach, slamming the door behind her. She doesn't want to look back and let her mother see the tears falling down her cheeks, no matter how hard she tries to hold them in. She starts running towards the water, wanting to dip her feet in and pretend that she's sitting there with her father, watching the sun set together and staying out until it was just too cold to stay out any longer.

As soon as her bare feet reach the ocean, she falls down to her knees, letting her tears fall into the salty water crashing around her. "Why Dad?" Delta whispers, staring out at the setting sun that shouldn't be out now, not when Delta is mourning. "Why did you have to join the rebels? You never had to worry about me being reaped for the Games…"

Delta takes in a shaky breath, clenching her hands into fists and staring down at her lap. "Why did you throw your life away for a cause that won't ever succeed?"

The rebels will never win. How many failed rebellions need to happen before they'll realize they can never beat the Capitol?

Delta sure as hell isn't losing her life to a third rebellion that is going to fail. She's _never_ going to give her life for the rebel cause. Not after they took away her father. She'll do whatever she can to spite them.

"I don't know how, Dad, but I'm going to get justice for your death," Delta looks up at the sky, never one to believe in the afterlife, but right now…she hopes somehow her father can see her. "I promise you the rebels will regret ever doing this."

* * *

 _One and a Half Months Later_

Delta stops her angry hits against the punching bag at the sound of a whistle blowing, turning her attention over to the person making the noise. Okeanas Var stands at the front of the room, hands on her hips and still looking like she could kick all of their asses, despite being forty years older than all of them. "Listen up, you bumbling idiots!"

Delta would love to get personally trained by Okeanas.

"I know you're all excited to watch Stormy and Velmour compete in just a couple weeks for the Games," Okeanas calls out to the silent room and a few people start murmuring in excitement about the two chosen volunteers for this year. Delta is indifferent about Stormy, but Velmour? She resents everything about him. "But that doesn't mean you can slack off. We have a Quarter Quell to be preparing for next year! And there is no fucking way I'm letting District Two win a Quell again."

Some of the trainees cheer at this statement, but Delta just focuses on Okeanas, waiting to hear the rest of what the victor has to say so she can get back to training. She refuses to stop training until she gets that spot as the volunteer for the Quell. What better way to stick up a big middle finger and say 'Fuck you' to the rebels than winning the Hunger Games, _especially_ a Quell, in the name of the Capitol?

 _Revenge is going to taste so sweet._

"Starting now, we're going to have monthly assessments of your ranks for everyone who will be seventeen or eighteen at the time of the Quell," Okeanas pauses to stare out at each person, her eyes cutting through them and making some nervously look away. But Delta keeps her gaze on Okeanas, refusing to let the victor think she can't do this. "If you're not serious about volunteering, you might as well just quit now and save me the time of dealing with your embarrassment."

No one makes a move to leave the training room, much to Okeanas' disappointment. "Well, here are your current rankings," she says as one of the other trainers brings out to lists, setting them up on a stand next to Okeanas. "Each month you will be reassessed and we will start to eliminate those who have no chance to focus on the top competitors. Try not to disappoint me."

At her stepping away from the lists, everyone starts crowding around them. Delta starts storming over, determined to see where she stands after barely doing anything but train for the last month and a half. She starts pushing people aside, getting a few girls shouting at her but she just flips them off with a hand that's raw from punching the training bag for hours today.

But before she can reach the front of the crowd, a sharp voice calls her name out over the crowd. "Delta Zale, come here!"

Delta would have to be an idiot to ignore Okeanas Var calling for her, so despite her burning curiosity to know where she ranks, she changes the direction she's walking, heading towards the victor instead. Once free of the crowd still mumbling about her pushing them aside, she stops in front of Okeanas, crossing her arms as she's unable to read the expression on her face. A man in his thirties stands next to the victor, grinning proudly at Delta. "Yes ma'am?"

"I'm impressed by you," Okeanas gets right to the point and Delta raises an eyebrow at the praise from the victor. "No one in our history has ever managed to jump so many placements in such a short amount of time. You went from near the bottom to being in the top ten out of all the sixteen and seventeen year olds in just one and a half months. How?"

Delta tries to carefully consider her answer to Okeanas, but winds up just honestly blurting out her reason, "Revenge."

Okeanas stares at her curiously for a few seconds before laughing loudly, pointing a finger at Delta while grinning at the man next to her. "I like her. Revenge is your motivation? I don't want to know who it's against, I just care that you keep it up."

"I have every intention of becoming a victor for Four," Delta answers, getting a rare proud smile from Okeanas. "Just watch."

"I am watching," Okeanas puts a hand on the man's shoulder, pushing him forward slightly. "Which is why I'm assigning Sebastian to be your personal trainer. I trained him myself so you'll be in good hands. Don't disappoint me."

"I have no intention of that," Delta responds before Okeanas gives a nod of her head and walks away, leaving Delta to start training with Sebastian. The man holds out a hand to her and Delta awkwardly shakes it, not knowing what she's supposed to be doing. "Uh, I'm Delta. Delta Zale."

"I know," Sebastian answers with a grin, firmly shaking her hand before letting go. "I've been really excited watching your progress. Okeanas is too, even if she won't admit it. We haven't seen someone as dedicated as you in a long time. And we really believe that you have a good chance at winning next year, but we would like to wait until you're eighteen to guarantee your victory."

Delta stares up at him in confusion for a few seconds, letting his words slowly sink in. Wait until she's eighteen? It's bad enough that she already has to wait a year now for the 150th Games. She can't wait _another_ year. She needs to do something now to prove to the rebels that they picked the wrong father to kill. "No."

"No?" Sebastian asks, his turn to be confused. "Delta, I'm afraid you don't have a say in who Iona and Okeanas pick to volunteer. So if they decide to wait, well, there's not much we can do."

"Oh I'll have a say," Delta says quietly, mind turning as she tries to figure out how she can get herself picked as the volunteer next year. She has rebel information… Maybe the Capitol will reward her loyalty for some information on the rebels in Four. "Can I take an hour lunch break before we get started? I have something to do."

Sebastian looks a little concerned at this, but soon nods his head in agreement. "Alright, one hour. And then we start getting you trained to be a victor."

* * *

Delta had always feared walking into the Justice Building as a child, knowing it's the representation of the Capitol's power in Four. As the daughter of a rebel and for many years, a rebel herself, she never thought she would step foot in this building. And now?

Now she's being led to talk to the mayor of District Four by her choice.

Delta had been quickly rushed through the building after she stormed in, demanding to talk to the mayor about classified rebel information. The secretary at the front desk seemed very nervous about Delta and keeps looking around as they walk towards the mayor's office. The man's action surprises Delta a bit. It would seem that the mayor is aware of the rebels among the District government.

Delta is motioned into a fancy office and she stops at the door, staring over at Mayor Tarus, unsure where to start now that she's actually in front of the mayor. "Please, come sit down," he motions for Delta to take a seat across from him at his desk and Delta quickly complies, trying to suppress the years of nervousness in her. "I was told you have classified information regarding rebel activity here in District Four."

"Yes, sir," Delta nods her head, really trying to be careful with what she says so she doesn't get incriminated herself as a rebel. "I want to report a family that has relations to one of the rebel leaders of the Second Rebellion and distant relatives that are still active in District Seven."

Mayor Tarus stares at her for a few seconds, making her nervously glance away at his scrutiny. "How do you know this information?"

"Let me make it clear, I absolutely hate the rebels," Delta starts raising her voice, wanting to make sure this man won't try to arrest her. "They took away someone I love…and they need to pay for it."

"Very well," Mayor Tarus leans back in his chair, still watching Delta carefully. "Who is the family? And you do realize the consequences if you are falsely reporting this family?"

"I do, sir, and I know it isn't a false report." Delta takes a deep breath, knowing she's about to fully betray the rebels. The training was just the start. But this? This is firmly cementing her place as a loyalist to the Capitol. And she likes the feeling of it.

"I would like to report James and Melanie Christian."

* * *

 _Five Months Before The Reaping_

Delta sighs heavily as she throws herself into the chair, getting temporary relief from all the aches of training. She's still waiting for when this will all be worth it. Still waiting for the day she gets to stick a big middle finger in the air to the rebels for killing her father as she wins the Games for the Capitol. The thought brings a smile to her face as she closes her eyes and leans back in the arm chair she spent so many nights as a little girl, sitting on her father's lap as he told her wild stories. _Soon, Dad, I'm going to get that revenge for you. The rebels picked the wrong father to kill._

"Delta?"

Delta slowly opens her eyes at the scared and timid voice of her mother, but keeps her eyes narrowed. She'll never be able to forgive her. Maybe after she's victor she could start to slowly make amends but for now…not happening. She's distrustful of whatever her mother might say, having barely spoken in months aside from necessary conversation to live together. "What?"

Her mother turns her eyes down immediately, staring at the floor instead of meeting Delta's glare. "You got a letter today…"

"A letter?" Delta asks, temporarily forgetting her deep grudge against her mother in her confusion as she passes Delta the letter. "Who would send me a- oh."

Delta gently holds the envelope in her hands, staring at the Capitol seal unbroken on the back of it. She slowly turns it over, certain that this must have been sent to the wrong house because why would someone in the Capitol – _someone important enough to seal letters with a wax seal_ – send her a letter? And yet…there's Delta Zale written in delicate cursive handwriting.

She hadn't heard anything ever since she turned in the Christian family seven months ago… Could she finally be getting her reward?

Will it even be the reward that she wants?

Delta's fingers slowly trail over the Capitol seal, almost a little afraid of what she might find inside. And yet, she'll never know if she doesn't just read the thing already. She breaks the wax seal and gently takes out the letter, holding it closer to herself when she notices her mother trying to look over to read it.

' _Dear Miss Zale,_

 _It has been brought to my attention the valiant actions you have completed in the name of the Capitol. Actions that have gone against the ideals you were raised with.'_

Delta freezes up at this, her heart rate slowly increasing as a cold shiver goes down her spine. They know…? How do they know about her rebel past? And if they know, why haven't they arrested her, just like they did to the family she turned in? Taken her away from the mother she doesn't love to be hidden away from the rebels?

Despite the fear, her curiosity wins over and she quickly keeps reading the letter.

' _But by turning in the Christian family and other rebels in District Four, you have demonstrated your rejection of the rebel ideals that wish to tear apart this country. Loyalists are rewarded for their actions. I am aware that you have not yet been rewarded for turning in a family with such a prominent rebel relationship. That will change shortly._

 _Word has spread to the Capitol about your record setting progress through the ranks of the training center. The Capitol will proudly cheer for such a loyal citizen in this year's Quarter Quell._

 _Continue to train hard and show your support for the Capitol. I will personally be looking forward to what you accomplish in the arena._

 _With gratitude,_

 _President Mendalius Xavier'_

The words start to blur as Delta's hands shake and her grip tightens on the piece of paper. The _President_ had personally sent her a letter? A letter that has finally given her the one thing she wants more than anything. Well…there's only one thing she wants more, but it's not possible for her to bring back the dead.

"Delta?" Her mother asks timidly again, but Delta can't glare at her as satisfaction is building inside her. "What does it say? And who is it from?"

"It's from the President," Delta answers, watching the fear cross her mother's face at her former rebel daughter receiving a personal letter from the President of Panem. "And he's giving me my reward for turning in the Christian family and the chance to fix the mistake you made."

Delta jumps up from the chair, the ache in her muscles forgotten as a new set of determination courses through her. She hadn't had the chance to change out of her workout clothes yet, only making things easier for her. "I'm going back to the training center."

"But it's already 9 pm!" Her mother starts following Delta towards the door, letting her concern fill her voice. "Delta, where are you going?"

Delta pauses from sliding her shoes back on to stare up at her mother, feeling more resentment than usual at the woman that sent her down this path. "I'm going to get what I want." She finishes tying up her laces and throws open the door, stepping out into the warm spring night and taking a moment to let the satisfaction run through her at finally getting what she wants before she turns back to her mother.

"Revenge."

* * *

 _Demarcus Pollock, 18_

 _Two Months Before The Reaping_

If Demarcus doesn't get an answer soon, the stress of waiting might just kill him before he even gets into the arena. That is…assuming the victors decide for some reason that he is good enough to volunteer. He's not even sure they will think that. He barely thinks it right now… Yet he has to be the volunteer. He doesn't have any more years to wait. Not if he's to get his family help.

He just wishes there was a different way to get the money other than becoming victor. Some way other than killing. And especially with the Quell twist…it made some of his competitors run, but he couldn't afford to do that. Even if the thought of losing his sight or hearing terrifies him.

Demarcus half-heartedly keeps up with punching the small hand targets his friend Zale holds up for him. But he just hasn't been able to focus for days, ever since the rumors started to spread through the training center that the victors had made their decisions on the volunteers.

Demarcus has no clue what he'll do if he isn't one of them.

Caught up in his thoughts, his fist slips, hitting Zale in the chest instead and make his friend let out a small gasp of pain. Demarcus takes a step back and immediately starts apologizing, "I'm so sorry Zale, it was an accident because I wasn't focusing." He can already picture in his head how Zale is going to yell at him for messing up, yell at him to go away and be alone because no one will ever like him. Why would anyone like him? His breathing increases as he waits for Zale to start yelling at him. That's what they all do because Demarcus keeps messing up. There's no way the victors will pick him to volunteer, not when he messes up a simple thing like practicing punches. And if they don't pick him, he'll never get the money from winning and he'll never be able to pay for treatment for his-

"Hey," Zale says suddenly, snapping Demarcus out of his rapid downward spiral of negative thoughts. He stares at his friend, growing aware of how fast he's breathing and the quick thudding of his heart. "I know what you're doing and stop being so hard on yourself. I don't think you have to worry about who the victors pick and it's going to be fine, Demarcus," Zale says calmly, giving Demarcus a reassuring smile, knowing it's just what he needs right now. Except it's not. It just makes Demarcus grow distrustful, a small part of him still questioning why Zale is being so nice to him. "You're so well trained they would be dumb to not pick you. So stop worrying."

"Easy for you to say," Demarcus responds softly, halfheartedly resuming to punch the targets Zale holds. He should just keep quiet so Zale doesn't start thinking the same things that everyone else always does about him… Just keep quiet so he doesn't push away the one person who has decided to be his friend for reasons completely unknown to him. "You don't have any worry about it since you just want to be a trainer."

"I'm worried for you," Zale says under his breath as everyone's attention in the room is drawn over to the victors that just entered the room. Hard not to be drawn towards Okeanas Var and Iona Lamonte.

"Can we have your attention please?" Iona calls out, even though almost everyone was already paying attention to her. Demarcus nervously glances away when Iona's gaze lands on him for an extended amount of time before moving to look around the room again. "Delta Zale and Demarcus Pollock, please come with us."

Whispers start up immediately in the training room at this and Demarcus can feel all the people looking over at him, building up his anxiety on top of the concern for why Iona is calling him and Delta. And then there's a bit of fear at Okeanas and Delta and the way they both stomp around the room, a look on their face like they'll punch you if you say something wrong.

"Don't make me go with her alone," Demarcus tries to grab on to Zale's arm, failing to grasp it with the boxing glove still on his hand. "She intimidates me."

Zale stares at Demarcus for a few seconds, only making his anxiety keep growing as his eyes flick over to the waiting mentor, before his friend slowly starts to smile at him. "Demarcus, when are you going to realize people have the same reaction to you?"

Demarcus frowns immediately at this, "I hate people being afraid of me for how I look."

"I know," Zale gives him a comforting pat on the shoulder before nudging him towards the victor who is rapidly growing impatient. "No one knows that you're really a big teddy bear. Now go, I promise it will be fine."

Demarcus nods at this and takes a deep breath before taking a few steps towards Okeanas, with Delta already at her side. He pauses to turn back to his friend to give Zale a grateful smile, but falters at the weird look on Zale's face, making him grow uncomfortable and avert his eyes. "Uh…" Demarcus quickly turns back around, mentally cursing himself for being so terrible at talking to people. For being so afraid to talk to people. He has no clue how Zale has remained his friend for this long. No one has ever stayed his friend this long. Demarcus isn't sure how much longer Zale will stay his friend before he messes it up and it scares him to think about when that will happen.

As Demarcus falls into line behind the three women, he tries to keep his breathing normal but his fear of this conversation won't let that happen. Why would they be calling both of them together? Maybe they're picking them as the volunteers…but surely that's not the case. Delta is only 17 and Demarcus is…well, not that great.

Iona leads them to her office, standing aside in the door to motion them in. She gives a warm smile to Demarcus when he hesitates at the door, staring after Okeanas and Delta. "Please, take a seat."

"Yes, ma'am," Demarcus answers quietly before slowly walking in, subtly moving his chair at Iona's desk as far as he can from Delta before sitting down. He tries not to look at the victors directly, instead focusing on controlling his breathing and keeping his heart rate normal. But it's hard to do that when his mind won't stop imagining all sorts of scenarios where the victors are going to tell him that he's terrible and they're kicking him out of the training center.

"Well," Iona starts, sighing a little before smiling at the two as she folds her hands on her desk. Okeanas stays standing next to her, arms crossed and intimidating look on her face that has never faded over the years. "I'm sorry this conversation is happening so late, but we had some… _things_ we had to do for the Capitol. But congratulations, you both have been selected as our volunteers this year."

Iona stares at the two for a few seconds, waiting for their reactions. And in Demarcus' panic at being in this office, it takes a bit for the news to fully settle in. He did it…somehow, he actually did it and the victors have picked him.

 _He's going into the Hunger Games._

But with that thought brings a whole train of fear at actually having to kill people. How is he supposed to do that?

"We're giving you the chance now to turn down this offer before we announce you to the training center," Iona continues, still watching both of them.

"You better not be fucking weak and back out now," Okeanas adds and Demarcus quickly shakes his head out of fear for his life at the way she glares him down.

"Never," Delta answers, voice smug and full of confidence. How is he supposed to compete against her? She has to be better than him if she was picked at seventeen…

"Demarcus?"

He looks at Iona at the sound of his name, realizing the victor is waiting for his response. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't realize she was staring at him, but now wishes he could stay in ignorance. "Of course not, ma'am," Demarcus finally answers, even if his stomach twists at the thought of actually fighting and hurting people. But what other option does he have? There's no other way he can get the money he needs for his family. "I'm not backing out."

* * *

Demarcus hesitates with his hand on the doorknob, afraid to walk into his own home today. He never knows what to expect with his family, but today he's even more uncertain because he has no idea how they will react to the news that he was picked to volunteer. He doesn't trust them to react well, even though the news means they can start getting treatment for their parents and start putting back together their broken family. Even though he knows he should help himself first, he can't, not when his parents need it more. For the sake of his brothers and sisters.

It's also the fear that they're going to yell at him and tell him he's making the wrong choice that has him standing at his own front door, terrified to enter the house.

Demarcus can hear the youngest two screaming at each other from outside and sighs loudly before finally getting the smallest amount of courage needed to enter the house and face all of them. The screams only get louder and he heads to the living room, knowing that's where his siblings will be. He stops in the doorway, staring at the chaos happening in the small room as Mark and Marvin are fighting on the ground over one of the very few toys their family has been able to afford, passed down from when Demarcus was a baby through five children until finally Mark has them. The twin girls sit on the couch, watching the two younger boys fight, sticking to themselves like always.

His parents are nowhere to be seen, but Demarcus expected that. If the youngest stopped yelling, he could probably hear the mutterings of their father from his room, saying all sorts of terrible things about them. And his mother… if she's not out here, she's probably stuck in bed, unable to bring herself out of her room. Demarcus can only hope none of the younger ones gave in to her and brought her alcohol, making the situation even worse.

And then there's Marshall, sitting on the armchair, staring over at Demarcus, his normally calm face full of slow burning rage at Demarcus showing up so late tonight. Demarcus immediately adverts his eyes, hating the judgement from the next eldest boy in the family. "You're late."

"I'm sorry," Demarcus says right away as the younger ones fall quiet, just now realizing that he's returned home. "They kept me late at the training center and I didn't have a way to contact you."

"Demarcus!" Mark yells as he jumps up and runs over to give him a big hug around his legs, trapping him in that spot with Marshall's gaze locked on him. "You're home!"

"Hey buddy," Demarcus responds as he picks up the young boy, placing him on his hip and giving him a little boop on the nose that he giggles about. He focuses on his youngest brother, trying to ignore the growing pit of anxiety in his stomach at Marshall's continued glares. "How was your day?"

"Marvin was mean to me!"

"Because you're a brat!"

"Stop it!" Marshall yells at them, stopping the two from getting into another meltdown. Demarcus sets down Mark as the silence left behind keeps growing into awkwardness until Demarcus can't take it anymore and finally looks up at Marshall, already dreading this conversation and slowly feeling worthless with each passing second. "I had to make dinner for everyone on my own. And get the boys bathed and ready for bed."

"I'm sorry-"

"And this was after working all day on the boats because someone has to work in this family," Marshall continues, completely ignoring Demarcus' attempt to apologize to his brother and simply making him feel even worse, even if it wasn't his fault that the victors want to make up for delaying the volunteer decision. He didn't have a say when Okeanas and Iona told him and Delta they have to start training later. He couldn't argue with that. "Because we both know the parents aren't helping and someone needs to make sure everyone can eat."

"I'm sorry!" Demarcus yells before immediately regretting raising his voice at his brother. "I'm sorry for yelling," Demarcus continues at a much softer tone, feeling the need to defend himself against his brother, but not wanting to make him angrier. "I didn't have a choice in staying later. I have to keep preparing."

Marshall narrows his eyes at Demarcus and the older boy can feel his heart rate picking up as he struggles to keep his breathing calm. He just wants to run to his room and have a small amount of time alone, avoiding all people, at least until Marshall wants to go to bed and he has to share the small bedroom. "Why?"

Demarcus knows he can't avoid the question, despite every part of him screaming to run away and avoid answering so he can avoid his family telling him that he'll never win and bring on more self-doubt that he already has enough of. "Because they picked the volunteers today…"

Demarcus waits for Marshall to put everything together, nervously glancing between Marshall and the floor. Finally, Marshall speaks up, "Oh."

"Oh?" Demarcus echoes, scrunching his face in confusion as he finally looks up at Marshall for more than just a second. But his brother is keeping his face clear, making Demarcus somehow even more anxious that he can't figure out what Marshall thinks. Probably something bad about Demarcus getting picked because people always think poorly about him.

Marshall stands up, heading over to Demarcus to stand right in front of him, forcing Demarcus to look at his younger brother in the eye. "You're abandoning us."

"I'm not doing that-"

"Don't lie to me!" Marshall yells at him, making him cringe away and want to start apologizing. "You've always abandoned us to focus on training and left me to make sure everyone was still fed while our parents can't even look at each other without fighting. And forget about them actually working consistently for more than two months at a time."

"I-I'm trying to help us," Demarcus stammers, trying to avoid Marshall's angry look but it's hard when he's right in his face. All of him is screaming at him to run away from this conversation and go back to the victors and tell them he can't do it. Marshall is right, he's just abandoning them.

He takes a step back and nervously looks around the room. He hesitates when he sees his other siblings all staring up at him, a variety of expressions on their faces. But it's the small bit of hope mixed with fear on Rosemary's face that stops him from running and quitting. "Are you going to…"

She trails of nervously and Samara picks up where she left off, something so common with them, "Help Mom and Dad?"

"Yes," Demarcus says softly, trying to find confidence in himself that he'll be successful. But it's so hard when he has Marshall still glaring at him and making him doubt everything he's learned for the past eight years. "I'm going to help everyone."

"Or you're going to die in the Games," Marshall starts storming off at this and Demarcus anxiously watches him, fighting the urge to yell after him and apologize, despite having nothing to apologize for.

The bedroom door slams shut and Demarcus cringes at the sound. He shuts his eyes as he tries to take in a slow, deep breath to help calm himself down, but there's no way to stop the anxious pit in his stomach that he won't be able to do this. He'll fail and his family will keep struggling without him there to support them and help them become healthy and get out of the toxic environment they're in.

He slowly opens his eyes, finding his four remaining siblings all still looking at him. He has to help them. He can't quit, no matter how much Marshall tells him to. No matter how much he tells _himself_ to quit. They are all depending on him as the oldest.

Just a couple months. He can try to stop all the fear and self-doubt for just a couple months. And then it will all be worth it.

* * *

 _Bobby Bobbins, Escort for District Four_

Bobby Bobbins couldn't believe his luck that he was already promoted to District Four after so little time as an escort! He misses the District Eight team, of course, and will always hold his first victor in a very special spot in his heart.

But, the promotion now gives him the opportunity to make a new District smile. And that's something he's been looking forward to and preparing for months.

Bobby has a grin on his face as he steps out to the applauding crowd, already feeling like his job to make Four smile will be way easier than it was in Eight. "Good morning District Four and _whale_ -come to the Reaping for the Sixth Quarter Quell! I'm your Captain Bobby Bobbins and it is lovely to _sea_ you this year."

Bobby pauses to wait for the crowd to applaud, but when they stay silent apart from a few snickers, he decides to keep going, only growing more determined to get them to laugh. "While I'm sad to leave District Eight and my friend Clark _Boat_ -wright, I'm ready to bring you a new victor too!" He clasps his hands in front of him, smiling out at the crowd of children waiting to see what will happen. "How about we pick the tributes? I sure hope no one clams up!"

Bobby walks over to the first glass sphere full of names, a skip in his step that he just can't help out of his excitement to be here. He takes his time picking the first name, watching as some in the crowd grow impatient with him. That's right! Bobby will be getting his first ever volunteer!

He quickly picks a piece of paper and all but runs back to the microphone, too excited to see who will volunteer. "Alright District Four, let's see who I've hooked as the first tribute! Can Golda Rald join us on stage?"

Bobby tucks his hands into the pockets of his suit as he rocks on his feet, waiting as a girl approaches from the middle of the group. He patiently waits for her to be on the stage before asking the crowd a question he's waited to get a response about for years. "Is anyone going to _kelp_ out Golda and volunteer?"

"I volunteer!"

Bobby claps his hands in excitement at the strong voice that called out, putting a hand up to block the sun from his eyes as he watches a girl step out from not the very front, but the seventeen year olds. Her nice blouse and dress pants do nothing to hide the almost absurd amount of muscles she has for her shorter height. But once free of the crowd, she starts stomping up to the stage, scowl on her face as she glares around at anyone that might dare threaten to take her spot.

No one stops her, which Bobby thinks would be a very bad idea once she's next to him and he sees the fire in her eyes. "I am _eel_ ated to meet you! What's your name?"

"Delta Zale," she answers, keeping the glare on her face as she stares out at the crowd, seemingly trying to find someone. Once her gaze stops, she continues, voice dripping in anger, "And I'm going to win this Quell for the Capitol."

Some of the crowd applauds this while Bobby stares at the girl. "Delta Zale?" He asks, getting a nod of confirmation from the girl. "What's a Zale and why are we finding the change in it?" He asks, looking at Delta with a grin on his face, waiting for her to laugh at the joke. But instead, she only glares at him. "Get it? 'Delta'? Geez, maybe we need to change your name to Delta Pressure because I sure can measure the change in pressure on the stage right now."

"Just get on with the fucking Reaping already!" A voice yells from behind him on the stage. He turns back to find Okeanas Var glaring at him, clearly the one who shouted at him. He lets out a little squeak at her glare before turning around, absolutely going to listen to her.

Doesn't mean he can't still make a few jokes. Sounds like she needs a lot.

"No need to be crabby! We _shore_ can continue and _sea_ who is joining Delta," Bobby chuckles at his own joke as he heads to the other glass sphere, picking a name faster this time and returning to the microphone so at least Okeanas can't say he isn't continuing with the Reaping. "And we now have Chandler Mar!"

A small boy slowly makes his way up to the stage from the very back of the crowd and Bobby waves him along, giving a big grin at the sad looking boy. "No need to be sad! There are lots of fish in the sea and I think we might have another volunteer. Am I right?"

A few seconds pass before a voice sounding not quite as confident as Delta calls out, "I volunteer!"

Bobby scans the crowd, waiting for a young man to step out from the front of the crowd, looking a little nervous as he rolls up the sleeves of his white button up shirt, revealing muscles as he glances around nervously at the crowd as he walks up to the stage. "Wonderful!" Bobby says as the man stops next to him, towering over him and looking intimidating as he tries to meet Bobby's gaze. "And what is your name?"

He clears his throat before answering, doing his best to look brave. "Demarcus Pollock."

Bobby waits a few seconds as he tries to think of a good joke about Demarcus' name, but someone clears their throat and he has no doubt that it was Okeanas warning him to keep moving. No matter, there will be plenty of time to think of a joke. "This is just _tide_ -ally awesome to have two volunteers!" Demarcus chuckles a little at the joke, making Bobby start grinning even wider, not that he really thought it was possible. He got one person to laugh! And he will find a way to make Delta laugh too.

"Well District Four, it is time for us to wave goodbye," Bobby grins at the two tributes, putting his hands on their shoulders. Delta immediately shrugs his hand off, sending a glare at him that makes his smile falter for a second. "Delta, there's no need to be _salty_. But anyways, both of you, be yourself, always avoid _pier_ pressure, and we will _sea_ you soon with your next victor!"

* * *

 _Demarcus Pollock_

Demarcus places his face in his hands, trying to get through the panic just barely contained in him by taking deep breaths. His family had done nothing to keep him calm by visiting him and if anything, just made him feel worse and gave doubts that he doesn't need to have right now. He's spent the last two months working with Iona, having her tell him daily that he is capable of this. And slowly, he's started to believe that the victor is right and he deserved to be the volunteer.

But in the course of a couple minutes, his family managed to backtrack all that progress he started to make.

"Why?" He mutters to himself as he rubs his eyes, sighing at the comments that keep echoing in his head from his family visiting. Comments from Marshall that he messed up by volunteering and he's abandoning them all. Comments from his father that Demarcus shouldn't trust anything the rest of his family just told him. But the worst was his mother, barely able to muster any emotion despite him leaving and possibly never coming back home.

The door creaks open and Demarcus sits up right away, stomach twisting at having to talk to someone else and not knowing who it might be. But he relaxes a bit at the sight of Zale walking in, but doesn't lose all of the tension in his shoulders at Zale being uncharacteristically nervous. "Hey Demarcus," he quietly says as he sits down on the couch and starts fidgeting with his hands.

"Are you okay?" Demarcus asks, feeling more concern for his friend's wellbeing than his own right now. "You look nervous."

"That's because I _am_ nervous," Zale responds, finally looking up at Demarcus. "I'm nervous about you going into the Games despite having trained with you for years and knowing you're ready."

"Iona says that I'm ready."

"And that's the problem!" Zale's voice raises a bit and Demarcus cringes away, not wanting his only friend to start telling him he's not good enough. Zale softens at Demarcus' reaction and reaches out to place his hand over Demarcus' on the couch. "It's always Iona telling you that you're ready. You never have the belief in yourself."

Demarcus pulls his hand away from Zale, uncomfortable with the touch. Zale's face immediately looks crushed by this, only leaving Demarcus confused and feeling bad for hurting his friend, even if he doesn't know why. "Zale, I'm sorry…"

"You have to win," Zale says softly, looking at Demarcus with sad eyes. "I don't think I can handle losing you. Not with how I feel about you…"

"Not with how you…" Demarcus starts before the realization of what Zale said hits him. "Oh…" Demarcus tries to keep his face neutral, but as he stares at Zale's expectant gaze, he can feel himself starting to sweat from his nerves. "Oh… Zale…"

"Please," Zale says, scooting a little closer to him and looking so desperate about Demarcus heading into the Games.

Demarcus moves back, keeping the same distance from himself and Zale as he can't control how rapidly he's starting to breath as immense guilt starts to fill him as he watches Zale's heart break. "Zale, I-I've never," he gasps for air as the panic overwhelms him out of fear for Zale's reaction. Demarcus puts his face in his hands, trying to avoid looking over at his friend – well…that's if Zale will actually stay his friend after this. "I've never felt that way…about _anyone_ …" He starts shaking his head in his hands, still refusing to look up at Zale. He doesn't want to see his face when his friend judges him for it. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm this way…"

"Oh…" Zale says and Demarcus can hear the pain in his voice, making him move his hand to glance over, despite not wanting to see the pain he caused. "Demarcus… I'm sorry for putting pressure on you for saying this. I just had to in case I don't see you again… You're still my friend so please, promise me you'll make it out."

Demarcus can see just how painful it is for Zale to sit there after being rejected, yet still tell Demarcus he cares. In fact, he's the only person to ever still seemingly care about him despite Demarcus doing something to wrong them… "I promise," he picks up his head, trying to find the resolve to keep this promise. It's that or think about how he might disappoint Zale by dying, and he doesn't want to do that. "I promise I'm going to do my best to make it out."

Only problem is he doesn't quite know _how_.

* * *

 **There we go, our tributes for District Four! Big thanks to Goldie for Delta and Pi for Demarcus and Bobby! I had a lot of fun with both of them, especially with their very different reactions to going into the Games. I'm looking forward to writing more of them and how the interact!**

 **What do you think about these two? Now that we've seen all of the careers, how do you think they'll interact? And what fish pun was your favorite from Bobby Bobbins?**

 **See you next time in District Five!**


	9. District 5: Make Them Proud

**Chapter 5:**

 _District Five_

 _Davy Emmerich, 14_

 _Six Months Before The Reaping_

Most people wouldn't be dreading the end of the school day. In fact, most of Davy's fellow students were all expressing various levels of excitement at the last bell, knowing it meant the start of the weekend. But Davy wasn't like all of them, something that would disappoint his parents if they knew.

Which kind of complicates things since the reason for his dread has to do with spending time with his family for the next two evenings.

Davy rests his head down on his desk, letting out a small groan at having to leave already. "I don't want to go home," he mumbles against the wood, shaking his head a little bit.

His actions get a laugh from his friend and Davy turns his head to look up at Griffon as he puts a hand on Davy's shoulder. "Dude, you're probably the only person who's not excited about it being their birthday."

"I'm not excited about listening to them talk about nuclear physics all night and how they can't wait for me to study it," Davy sighs as he sits back up and starts slowly putting away his stuff, trying to procrastinate heading home. "But I can't tell them that…they would be so disappointed in me."

"So you would rather be miserable just to make them happy?" Griffon gives him an exasperated look as Davy stands up, swinging his bag on his shoulder and just giving Griffon a look that gives him his answer. "Come on, at least you're going to be eating great food at that banquet tomorrow night."

"Yes," Davy says as they start walking out of the classroom, pausing to wait for a group to pass before stepping out into the hallway and heading towards their lockers. "I get to eat good food while listening to people talk about how they're ruining this District with their energy choices."

"I keep telling you, start that club idea. I'll go to the store and we can get some markers and make signs and picket around the gala tomorrow. We'll show them all to care about the pollution those factories are putting out through the power of glitter glue." Griffon looks over at him and Davy turns away, refusing to look over and give his friend the satisfaction of seeing the stupid grin that is most definitely on his face right now.

"Glitter glue isn't going to fix the problem."

"Glitter glue always fixes things." From the corner of his eye, he can see Griffon shake his head when Davy still refuses to make eye contact with him. "You're impossible."

"So are you," Davy retorts as they reach his locker, pausing for a second to look over at him and give him a small smile. But as he starts putting in his combination, the smile fades as he thinks about the club idea. Griffon knows why he can't start that club…as much as he would love to talk about getting renewable energy here…no one will listen to him. Not that he has the courage to speak up in front of a big group and talk about renewable energy sources. In front of one or two people? Oh he could talk for hours, something Griffon knows from personal experience. But a crowd? Even just thinking about it terrifies him.

But most importantly, his parents would be so disappointed in him. He pulls open his locker, sticking his head in it so Griffon won't see the disappointment on his face that he can't do this one thing, even if it would make him so happy. "I don't think the Society of Nuclear Physicists will agree with that. Glitter glue isn't going to fix the fact that District Five has the highest pollution rate in Panem, yet none of the factory owners seem to care about doing something to even reduce it. My own parents don't even want to acknowledge that the nuclear plants are bad because 'at least they're not a coal plant'." Davy lets out a heavy sigh as he makes air quotes, able to picture almost the exact argument they would say if he brought this up to them again. It's for that reason that he hasn't brought it up again, even if he cares so much about it.

"No one will care about what I have to say about being green in the District with the most pollution…" He sighs once more and briefly shuts his eyes, wishing he could have more courage to stand up to them. "Who would even join that club?" he whispers to himself as he starts grabbing some of the books he'll need for the weekend. From the corner of his eye, he can see Griffon lean up against the locker next to his. "Griff, no matter what you say, I'm not going to-"

Davy lets out a little squeak of surprise when he turns towards his friend, only to find it's not Griffon standing there. He can feel his face immediately flushing, probably turning as red as the boy's hair standing in front of him. Davy clutches his books to his chest, looking away from the boy and trying to collect himself, but failing miserably when he glances back over and he's reminded just how cute Leandro Calder is. "Hi Leandro," he says meekly, turning back to his locker and staring inside to try and hide his blushing, even if he already has everything he needs. Gosh, Leandro probably thinks he's crazy for how he reacted… That was so not smooth.

 _Okay Davy, think – what would Amedeo say to do? Oh that won't work, Amedeo taught him how to flirt with girls, not cute boys who-_

"Hey Davy," Leandro says quietly, making Davy briefly glances over at him before immediately turning back to his stuff when he sees the cute smile on his face. "I…uh…didn't mean to overhear your conversation, but I was walking over here and… um… I think the club is a good idea."

"What?" Davy asks, turning to look over at the cute boy with wide eyes, making Leandro nervously glance away and start picking at his nails. Davy briefly glances for Griffon, finding his friend standing out of Leandro's view with a ridiculous grin on his face as he wiggles his eyebrows and points at Leandro. Griffon holds up his hand to his ear, still pointing at Leandro and mouthing something. Davy starts squinting at his friend until he finally figures out what Griffon is trying to say and quickly shakes his head, but stops and blushes even more when Leandro looks back up at him. Why does Griffon even think Davy could get the courage to ask Leandro for his number? No way he can do that.

"The club…" Leandro says quietly, continuing to smile at Davy. When his eyes light up in excitement, Davy looks away once more, trying to discretely wipe his sweaty palms on his pants and calm his racing heart. _Come on, Davy, play it cool…_ "You should start it. I would join and if you ever need someone to bake for a fundraiser, my mom will bake enough to feed half the District. She really cares about this and keeping people safe. But she also really loves baking."

"You know what," Griffon starts and Davy looks at him with pleading eyes, already knowing that whatever he's going to suggest is not going to be good for Davy. His friend needs to stay out of this, but Davy has known him long enough – and Griffon has known about his crush for too long – to expect Griffon to stay out of it. His friend puts a hand on both of their shoulders, grinning at both of them individually before continuing, "I think both of you should start this club together! It would be a great thing."

"If you want me to be involved…yeah, sure," Leandro smiles at Griffon before turning his attention back to Davy, surely making his face be the color of a tomato at this point. "Just let me know when you would like to work on it. Oh, and, uh, happy birthday."

"Thank you," Davy squeaks out and Leandro gives him a timid smile before turning around to meet up with his friends waiting for him, just some of the many friends that Leandro always seems to be surrounded by. Davy watches him for a few seconds, in disbelief that Leandro actually came up to him and talked to him. And he probably looked like such an idiot with how warm his face is right now. It must be so obviously to Leandro how he feels… but also, Leandro talked to him. Leandro Calder! The son of the best victor in District Five, talked to him! And knew it's his birthday!

Davy sighs happily as he shuts his locker, leaning up against it as Griffon stands in front of him, terrible grin on his face as he holds out his closed fist to Davy. "Am I the greatest friend ever or am I the greatest friend ever?"

"Shut up," Davy says as he pushes Griffon's fist away, refusing to give him a fist bump. He turns his attention to putting the rest of the books in his bag, trying to hide the big grin on his face that Leandro actually talked to him – and cared enough to know it was his birthday – but as he puts stuff away, he slowly realizes what Griffon just got him signed up for. How is he supposed to talk to people in front of his crush? How is he even supposed to talk _to_ his crush? Oh he is in so much trouble. "Griffon, what did you just do?"

"I got you an excuse to talk to the boy you've been crushing on for months," Griffon responds and Davy shushes him, looking around nervously to make sure no one overheard him. God, just starting to even think about what would happen if people knew about his crush on Leandro is enough to send him into a panic. How long would it take before his parents found out? "Oh relax, I'll help you with the club so you're not alone with him. Yet."

Davy sighs at this, but finds himself still smiling a little at the thought of spending time with Leandro. But as he starts walking towards the exit, his smile is replaced by a frown as he remembers the family dinner planned for tonight. "I'd rather face talking to him alone than spend time with my whole family tonight. I wish you could join."

"Sorry, Davy, you'll have to face them alone," Griffon answers, putting aside his joking to put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "If I was a nice girl, they would have had no problem with me joining you."

Davy shakes his head at this, feeling the dread return, momentarily forgotten by Leandro. But now it's even worse because he wishes he could just be honest with his parents and tell them he'd rather invite Leandro than any girl. "Yeah, if only…"

* * *

"Davy, come on! We have to get going!"

Davy sighs as he sits on the corner of his bed, knowing he can't push off this birthday dinner any longer. He doesn't mind seeing his siblings, but he just doesn't want his father to see them with their partners and then how Davy doesn't have someone with him. But he's only fourteen. How is he supposed to know how to talk to people and actually date them? He's not Amedeo, even if his oldest brother tries very hard to get him to act like him. But no attempt to teach Davy how to flirt seems to work.

Davy can't bring himself to tell Amedeo it probably isn't working because Amedeo doesn't know how to flirt with boys.

He hears footsteps approaching his door and sighs before finally standing up, straightening out the wrinkles in his dress pants. He glances up and finds Radon smiling at him, leaning against the doorframe. "Come on, birthday boy. Mom sent me up here."

"I'm going, don't worry," Davy responds as he starts walking towards his brother, giving him a small smile. He hesitates next to his brother, wondering how much time they have. "Hey Radon…" Davy glances out into the hallway and when he finds no one there, he brings his attention back to his brother. He nervously starts biting his lip, wondering if he should even ask Radon this…but he's not going to ask Amedeo. He trusts Radon not to tell their parents, but definitely not their oldest sibling. "I'm uh…going to be working on this project with someone…"

"Okay, not unusual in school for that to happen," Radon says as they start walking towards the staircase, seemingly not noticing how nervous Davy is by this conversation. He has to be so careful with everything he says, out of fear for what might happen if his family finds out. All it would take is one little slip…one wrong use of saying 'him' instead of 'her', and they'll know. They'll know he just can't follow in the footsteps of all his older siblings and find a girl to marry and start a family at a young age like all of them.

Davy puts out a hand to stop Radon at the top of the stairs, hearing the voices of their family waiting downstairs for them. "Radon, can you please promise not to say anything to anyone?" he whispers, looking down the stairs to check that no one is listening. "Please?" He pleads up at his brother, hoping he can truly trust him. Radon has never let him down before…hopefully he won't change that now.

"Sure," Radon grins down at Davy, ruffling his hair and making the younger boy try to push away his hand. "I won't tell anyone."

Davy wishes he could completely trust this statement so he could just tell Radon everything. If there was anyone in the family that Davy might trust with coming out…it's Radon. But no…he can't take that risk. "Well, I kinda have a crush on this person…and need help with how to talk to them."

"And you know Amedeo won't really help you?" Radon finishes, laughing a little and making Davy flush nervously that he doesn't trust his eldest brother, but Radon is right. "I wouldn't trust him either. Of course I'll help you, little bro. And I'm happy that you've found a cute girl."

Davy forces a smile on his face at this, hoping to make Radon keep believing that's the case. "Yeah…"

"But after dinner," Radon says quickly when their mother appears at the bottom of the stairs and looks up at them expectantly. "We're coming!"

"Aww, just look at you, Davy," his mother calls up to him as he walks down towards her, looking like she might cry. Her reaction makes him start blushing in embarrassment, getting too old to have his mom still babying him. He's so lucky Griffon isn't around to see this, even if his friend loves having Davy's mom treat him like he's part of the family too – but Griffon would never admit that to Davy. "My little baby is getting so big."

"Mom, I'm not a baby anymore," Davy tries to knock her hand away as she grabs on to his ears, making him feel even more self-conscious about them than he normally does.

She pats him on the head before smoothing out his hair that Radon messed up, still smiling at him. "We need to get you a haircut tomorrow before the gala, it's getting so long. And honey, you'll always be my baby, even when you're all grown up and have your own family." She pauses at this and Davy tries not to start frowning, knowing exactly what she's going to ask about next. "Are you sure you don't have someone to invite with us for dinner? I did make our reservation with an extra seat tonight, just in case."

Davy wants to give an honest answer to her so he can invite who he really wants to join him for his birthday dinner. Well…at least pretend he would have the courage to ask Leandro if it was an option. He wants to tell his mom the truth more than anything…but not tonight. Not when it will only start a conversation with his father that Davy just hasn't found the right girl yet.

Slight problem there since Davy knows exactly who he wants and Leandro doesn't quite fit their criteria.

"No, Mom," Davy says quietly, avoiding looking at her face so he doesn't see the disappointment in her eyes that he isn't like his older siblings. For just one night, he'd like to not get compared to them and not disappoint his parents.

Davy glances up to see an encouraging smile on her face, but she doesn't do well enough at hiding the disappointment in her eyes, just making him feel terrible. Great…he doesn't want to feel terrible on his birthday. "No matter, you're still young," she says quietly, pulling herself together and smiling at Davy before giving him a hug that helps diminish some of his sadness. "Maybe I can introduce you to my friend Milana's daughter tomorrow night, I think she's your age."

"That's not necessary, Mom," Davy says bashfully, stepping back from her and feeling his face heating up in embarrassment that only gets worse when he sees Radon's face and knows his brother is thinking Davy already has a girl he's crushing on.

"You better find a cute girl soon, Davy, or you'll end up alone."

Davy lets out a small sigh at the phrase he hears all too often from his father. If only they could go one day without this conversation…and he knows tomorrow is only going to be worse. He looks over at the staircase and sees his father walking down, adjusting his cuff links as he critically looks over Davy. He tries to stand taller, hoping his father won't be disappointed in his appearance tonight. "I don't want to see any of my children end up alone."

"Bohr, don't upset him on his birthday," his mother says, making Davy look over at her happily at her defending him.

"I'm just speaking the truth," Davy's father responds, not taking much time to look over at Davy and instead turning his gaze towards Radon. Davy tries to pretend that he doesn't notice the change in his father's gaze, but he can't completely ignore it and starts frowning. He's never gotten that kind of look from his father… "Your siblings are meeting us at the restaurant. Amedeo didn't want to make Harriet walk farther than necessary given her condition."

Davy's mother lets out a little noise of delight as his father helps her put on her jacket. "Oh I can't wait to meet our second grandchild!"

And just like that, his siblings have taken his parents' attention away from Davy without even being there… Not even on his birthday could his parents focus on him completely. He tries to hide the hurt on his face as he takes his jacket from his mother and puts it on, just hovering in the background as his mother keeps talking about Amedeo's soon-to-be child, hoping she'll have another granddaughter. Davy is excited about the baby but…couldn't they talk about him? Ask him how his day was or what he wants to order for dinner tonight? He would even take his parents telling him he needs to find a cute girl at this point because at least they would be talking about him.

At the door, Radon looks over at Davy, almost looking like he'll start talking to Davy, but as his father locks up the door, he starts asking Radon about what he learned at university today, drawing his brother away from him.

Davy lets out a sigh that goes unnoticed and as they start walking towards the restaurant, he lingers back from the others, not that they really notice. One thought keeps hovering in his head as he watches his brother talk to his parents. All of his siblings have fit their father's high expectations: married or engaged at a young age and studying to be nuclear physicists just like their parents. Davy can't help the creeping disappointment inside of him, knowing he's never going to make his parents proud of him. He's never going to be their perfect child and do everything they expect of him. He so badly wants to be their perfect son.

 _But that's not him._

* * *

 _Eva Orville-Wright, 18_

 _Three Months Before The Reaping_

"Ah, right on schedule. But of course, I never expected anything else from you."

Eva smiles to herself at this as she shuts the door into the workshop behind her, making the bells on the door chime once more. Everyone always tells her to stop with her 'ridiculous' overplanning and scheduling, yet one person appreciates the routine she finds comfort in. One of the two people that actually matter to her. "Hello Mr. Bernard."

Her old teacher takes off his glasses and gently sets them down on the table in front of him as Eva makes her way over, avoiding the controlled chaos of his workstation and the various sculptures, gadgets, and whatever else his bright mind could create. Of course, there's many of her own designs present, but those all rest on the shelves along the walls, carefully placed on display. "What are you working on?" Eva asks as she approaches her mentor, looking over his shoulder to see the pile of metal and the welding equipment, unable to make any sense of it yet. And unlike her, Mr. Bernard doesn't look back at his sketches once they're set, so she doesn't even have a drawing to go on.

"Well," he starts as he picks up the few pieces welded together so far as Eva pulls up a stool next to him, watching him intently to see what she can learn from him today. As much as she wants to work on stuff with him today, she knows she'll have to postpone it to another time. She's already figured out when she can make up the time, rearranging all the plans in her head so she can tell him the news she got yesterday. After all, he's a big part of the reason she has the news to say.

Mr. Bernard turns to look at her, the smile disappearing slightly from his face as he looks at her. "Eva, are you sleeping enough? Your mind isn't as sharp without sleep and I don't want to see you get hurt because you're falling asleep."

"I'm fine," Eva answers with a wave of her hand, used to the concern from him. While with others she would have told them off for trying to tell her what to do, she can't with him. Not with the man who's taught her so much and kept encouraging her when her parents didn't. "So what is it?" Eva asks, drawing his attention away from her and back to his work in progress. "Well, I guess what is it _supposed_ to be because right now it looks like you just put together a couple pieces of scrap metal."

"It's…" Mr. Bernard pauses to chuckle, his warm smile reappearing as he looks at her. "That's exactly what it is right now. But not for long!" He jumps off of his chair with a surprising amount of energy for someone in his sixties. Eva just watches as he jogs to his desk and starts rifling through the disheveled papers. "I saw the most peculiar thing the other day when watching TV – just one of those silly shows the Capitol thinks is so amusing. And I saw this thing that is absolutely pointless and – ah!" He proudly holds up a piece of paper and stares at the design for a few seconds before laughing, making Eva just know that whatever he's making is going to be exactly the type of thing she would love to design. "It's…well," he chuckles once more as he walks back over to Eva and slides the piece of paper in front of her. He points at the design and Eva stares at it, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she tries to figure out the point of it. "It's a bird that you set next to a cup and it just keeps looking like it's bobbing for water!"

Eva stares between the drawing and scraps of metal for a minute, trying to visualize the final design, but can't with the disarray that he keeps his workstation in. If she was creating this, she would have had every single piece labeled and sorted in the exact order she would need it. But her work style is very different than the relaxed old man who has a tendency to drink too much coffee and work on five things at once. She finally turns her gaze back to him, finding him waiting impatiently and with a grin that makes him look years younger. "But what's the point?"

"There is no point!" Mr. Bernard says loudly in excitement at this, sitting back down into his seat next to Eva. "There is no functional purpose for this thing, yet I couldn't stop the urge to create it." He picks up his sketch once more, letting out a chuckle again at the design. To anyone else, he would seem like a crazy person. But to Eva? He's brilliant and she could spend all day in his workroom. She _has_ tried to do that before until he made her go back home and try to sleep. He sets down the piece of paper once more and turns his attention back to Eva, staring at her with a kind smile for a few seconds. "Anyways, how was your day?"

"Not as exciting as yesterday," Eva tries to say calmly as she reaches into her bag, pulling out her folder designated for important things. But she can't hold back the grin of excitement as she opens the folder and sees the fancy letter sitting in there. The letter she worked so damn hard for after so many sleepless nights spent perfecting her personal statement and portfolio. She briefly glances up at Mr. Bernard, seeing the curious look he so often wears and putting all his attention on her, unlike most people she knows. "Hard to live up to the excitement of an acceptance letter, you know? Even I don't live that exciting of a daily life."

"Acceptance let…" Mr. Bernard trails off as Eva delicately hands him the letter that's setting her towards the future path she's worked her ass off towards. His eyes light up in excitement as he reads over the letter Eva has memorized after reading it so many times in the last 24 hours, just needing to make sure it truly says she'll be going to the university in the fall.

"Yep," Eva says, proud of herself for all the work she did. And because she received a full scholarship, a little bit of smugness that she did better than so many others. Surely they only gave out a small handful and _Eva_ was one of them. Here's the proof to everyone that told her to stop planning out everything and being so extra with her work that she was right.

Of course she was right, she knows what's best for her and she's going to get it.

"Full scholarship to the District Five University for Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering," she recites to Mr. Bernard, ready to keep telling everyone about it. This is her future and there's nothing she won't do to get it.

"Oh Eva," Mr. Bernard says softly as he gently sets down the letter over his sketch. He puts a hand on her shoulder before giving her the biggest smile she's ever seen from him. "I'm so proud of you."

Eva sits up taller at this, feeling all warm and fuzzy at the praise from him. No one ever tells her that they're proud of her accomplishments, especially not her parents that think she's chasing some 'silly dream'. Usually it's always just 'good job' or 'that's great, Eva'. So rarely does someone say they're actually proud of her. And it's a feeling she wants to keep feeling. "Well I picked up a thing or two from some old guy that has crazy ideas."

Mr. Bernard laughs loudly at this statement, making Eva crack a small smile at the man. "I have no idea who that person could be. Sounds like an awesome guy."

"He is…" Eva says softly before trailing off, not used to talking highly about anyone other than herself and…it's weird. "But anyways, I guess the admission committee really liked the portfolio I sent in. I bet no one else sent in something extra like that with the physical models, not just the designs and photos." The receptionist at the department was shocked when she dropped off the box of her creations with her application. But who cares if they were shocked, she was going to get the acceptance no matter what. And clearly it paid off.

"Have you told your family about it yet?" Mr. Bernard asks, something Eva already anticipated happening.

Eva shakes her head at him and glances down at her watch. _Right on schedule._ "Nope but I have to go do that now. Can't wait for them to tell me I'm being dumb." She hops off the stool and carefully picks up her acceptance letter, giving it a small wave at her teacher. "But clearly the university doesn't think I'm dumb."

"Eva, all that matters is that you know your own intelligence," Mr. Bernard pauses as he watches her pack up her stuff. When Eva is done, she glances back up at him to find a proud smile on his face. "And that you're happy with your choices."

"Pfft, trust me, I know my own intelligence," Eva responds as she slings her back up on her shoulder. "And I couldn't be happier with my future."

* * *

Eva lets out a yawn of exhaustion as she sets down her bag at the kitchen table, her eyes set on the coffee pot sitting on the counter and all ready for her to press brew for her afternoon cup. Once she presses the button, she leans against the counter and closes her eyes as she listens to the water heating up. She should sleep in the time she has, but she already designated this half hour before dinner to working on her current plane sketch. And there's no way she's deviating from her plan.

Eva opens her eyes at a small gasp of surprise and finds her mother standing at the entrance to the kitchen, holding a hand over her heart as she looks at her. "Eva, you scared me. I didn't hear you get home."

"So?" Eva asks as the coffee brewer starts beeping and she turns around to pour her cup. "When have I ever not gotten home at this time for the last two years?"

Her mother sighs at her tone as Eva takes her mug of coffee back to the table to get started on her design. Now that she's gotten her acceptance, she's even more motivated to work on stuff. She starts grabbing the designs from her bag as her mother gets back to the pot of soup on the stove. "Don't get started, we're eating dinner early today."

"Why?" Eva quickly brings her head up to look at her mother, her mind moving quickly as she tries to figure out how this shift in her day is going to impact everything. She was supposed to have a half hour of work…she supposes she could just add that to the hours later that she works on it, after she spends time with her sister for a half hour. Yes, she'll just move up dinner time and sister time. That should work without disrupting her daily schedule too much. And as long as she still gets that half hour of time to work on it tonight, she'll still meet her goal of getting the design complete tonight so she can work on actually making the scaled down model for the rest of the week. There, problem solved, and nothing should be changed in the long run.

But still, she'd rather there wasn't the interruption to her plans.

"Because I'm sick," a voice speaks up from the entrance to the kitchen and Eva glances over to find her father standing there, blanket wrapped around him and honestly looking like shit. "My boss sent me home early because he didn't want me causing an accident because my mind wasn't fully into the work."

"Wow, I didn't know they actually had smart people working in the coal mines," Eva says to him, turning her attention back to her coffee in front of her. No matter the disruption to her schedule, she's not missing out on her afternoon cup of coffee to get her through until her evening cup. Even with the insomnia, she won't get good work done without more coffee.

"I didn't either," he answers as he joins her at the table, pulling the blanket tighter around himself as he looks over at his daughter, and they share a small moment of understand. He finally shrugs and glances over at his wife. "I wanted to keep working but he all but forced me to leave."

"You work way too hard," her mother points a spoon over at her husband, hand on her hip as she stares at him for a few seconds. "No wonder you got sick because you're overworking yourself. I swear, you're going to bring yourself to an early grave by working too much."

"I'm fine," he answers before falling into a coughing fit, seemingly proving Eva's mother's point about him. He holds up a finger as he coughs, letting them know he isn't done. "There's nothing wrong with working hard."

"He's right," Eva speaks up, taking a sip of her coffee as her mother gives her an exasperated look at her agreeing with her father. "But please, go off about how the main source of income in our family should stop working as hard."

"He wouldn't have to if you would just start working like your sister – where is your sister?" Her mother glances around the kitchen before yelling as she takes the pot of soup of the stove. "Agnes! Dinner time!"

"I still don't understand why we are eating a half hour earlier," Eva sighs as she glances down at her bag, already accepting that her schedule has changed for the evening, but still wishing she could be working right now. "But whatever then."

"Because eating earlier means John can go to sleep earlier," her mother retorts as she smacks Eva's hand lightly away from the spoon so she can scoop soup into her father's bowl first. "Since you don't want to stop chasing your silly dreams and start working, he still has to go to work tomorrow."

"Rosa, let her be," her father says softly before getting another coughing fit as Eva's sister enters the kitchen.

"Hey Eva," Agnes gives her younger sister a small smile as she takes her seat across from Eva, glancing down at the table to see no papers strewn about. "Wow you actually got her wait?"

"I wasn't really given a choice," Eva mumbles to herself, just loud enough for her mother to still hear her displeasure at this. "Hi Agnes."

Her mother sighs as she sits down in her chair, shaking her head at Eva. "One of these days I'm going to take away that notebook and make you realize you need to just get a job already. Agnes can get you a job that would pay well and you even might have a chance to travel outside of the District if you get high enough up in the company and they send you to look at the power lines connecting the Districts. Doesn't that sound like a nice job?"

"Uh, no, not really," Eva shrugs at this, leaning back in her chair as she waits for her turn to get food, always having to wait until the others have gotten food as the youngest. "Sounds kind of miserable and I'm glad I don't have to do that."

"What do you mean?" Agnes asks as she starts getting her soup, carefully picking through to avoid all the carrots.

"I mean that I'm not going to be doing that," Eva answers, giving another casual shrug as her family all looks over at her. "Because I'll be going to the university instead." The room falls silent as they all look over at her. Eva's stomach rumbles and she points over to the bowl Agnes still holds. "Are you done yet?"

"You got accepted?" Agnes asks, showing a little bit of happiness towards her sister, but it's mixed into a bit of disappointment since she knows what program Eva applied for.

"What program?" Her mother asks as she sets down her spoon, obviously trying to stay calm with Eva right now. "Electrical Engineering?"

"Of course not," Eva scoffs at this and motions for the soup from Agnes. "Come on, by time you're done the soup is going to be cold."

"Eva!" Her mother slams her hand on the table and waits for Eva to turn her attention towards her before continuing. Eva takes her time looking over, picking up her coffee cup and taking a long sip before finally looking over at her mother. "This dream of yours is silly! You're never going to get a job in this District where you work on _planes_."

"And?" Eva asks, a little amused at her mother giving the same argument. If she would have actually done some research, she would have learned that there are plenty of jobs available for her in Five regarding powering all the hovercrafts. She'll have no problem getting a job when she's done. "Please, keep going off."

"How are you even going to afford this?" Her mother asks, voice slowly raising as Eva is finally passed the bowl of soup from Agnes. "We can barely afford to make ends meet now, let alone afford for you to follow an unrealistic dream. Maybe if you were pursuing a degree that was relevant in Five, we could find a way to pay."

"Don't worry, all those designs and models you said were a waste of material got me a full scholarship," Eva waits for the shock to pass on her mother's face, briefly rolling her eyes at her reaction. "Yeah bet you didn't expect that. So?"

Her mother falls quiet for a few seconds, angrily picking up her spoon and eating a spoonful of soup as she tries to figure out her response. "Eva, this is ridiculous."

"It's really not and I don't understand why you're getting all riled up about this," Eva says calmly as she scoops food into her bowl. Part of her knows she shouldn't take so much, but who cares. Her stomach is rumbling and sending a stab of pain at the sight of the food, protesting against how she's skipped out on meals the past few days. She deserves a little extra food now after she couldn't eat out of nervousness as she waited for notification from the university, planning out every alternative she could have in case she wasn't accepted. Ways to keep working to get in to the program she wants. "It's not your life, but go off then."

"I will go off!"

"Rosa-"

"No, don't Rosa me!" Her mother points over at her husband who holds up his hands defensively. He backs off, putting his focus back on his soup and letting the woman that primarily raised the two girls handle it. "Eva, this is just ridiculous. When are you going to realize you need to focus on something that will actually get you a job in Five?"

"No matter what you say, you're not going to stop me from going to the university," Eva gives her mother a hard look, trying to finally get it through to her that she can't stop Eva from pursuing what she loves. "No one is going to stop me from my dreams."

* * *

 _Bergundility Venetiality Muatamphere, Escort for District Five_

Bergundility cannot even fathom how she is still in filthy District _Five_ after ten full years of faithful service to Panem as an escort. And then someone who just got started got promoted to District Four, all because he got a victor? Everyone knows it was Astrid that got Clark home, not Bobby, yet he still got promoted before her. And now she has a warning from the President to do better or get fired? How is she supposed to improve when she's already doing a great job?

This just isn't fair. She should be in District One by now.

But she'll still try to listen to the President. She can't lose her job because how will she get to see Galen then? That man is the only good thing about District Five. Surely this will be the year he realizes they would be amazing together and he'll never find anyone as amazing as her. She can only hope and if not, well, she has her newest boyfriend waiting for her back in the Capitol.

Once the mayor is done with their speech, Bergundility does her very best to force a smile that doesn't look forced at all. She shifts around uncomfortably in the dress the President made her wear claiming it 'wasn't appropriate' for her to wear so little for the Reaping. Well you know what isn't appropriate? Getting ill because it's just not healthy to be wearing so much clothing.

"Hello District Five," Bergundility says with a barely contained sigh of distaste. She spares a quick glance back at the mentors and starts beaming at the sight of Galen. Oh he's even more attractive than last year! She'll put up with whatever terrible tributes she picks just to spend time with him. "I am the amazing Bergundility Venetiality Muatamphere and I am back once more." Not back by choice, though. "I know you're all impatiently waiting to see who will be picked, so I will not waste your time or mine."

Bergundility makes sure to sway her new and improved hips as she walks past Galen to pick the first tribute, hoping he'll still notice her great figure despite the dress she wears. She considers a few of the slips, mostly so she can make sure that her surgically enhanced rear is on display for the victor. Finally, she decides on a name and saunters back to the microphone. Before opening the slip of paper, she glances back at the victors once more, finding Galen's attention on her.

 _Of course his attention is on her, why wouldn't he be paying attention to her?_

All smug, Bergundility returns her attention to the drab crowd as she reads the first name. "First up is Eva Orville-Wright."

Bergundility places her hands on her hips as she watches the crowd, waiting for Eva to step out from the front of the sections. The girl stands tall, probably trying to make up for her short frame, as she makes her way up to the stage. She pushes back her long curly hair, only for the wind to push it back into her face right away. As she approaches Bergundility, the eyes ringed with dark circles don't seem to be focused on the escort as she simply takes her place on the stage with no fuss. But despite being unfocused, there's a determination in her eyes that is making Bergundility think that maybe she won't be completely uncapable of winning.

"And I don't suppose there's any volunteers for Eva?" Bergundility asks the crowd, knowing what the answer is going to be.

"Well that's a shocker," Eva retorts from next to Bergundility and the escort finds herself nodding her head in agreement. _Super_ big shocker that District Five doesn't have a volunteer.

"Very well, let's see who will be joining Eva," Bergundility says to the crowd before sauntering over to the other glass sphere, again hoping Galen is watching her. Once again she takes her time with picking a name, hoping that she'll pick another eighteen year old and give herself better chances of getting a victor and finally getting out of District Five. If Bobby Bobbins could get promoted, certainly she can get promoted. "And the second tribute this year is Davy Emmerich."

It takes longer for Davy to emerge from the crowd than Eva, and Bergundility finds herself disappointed when she sees him step out from among the fourteen year olds. The boy slowly walks to the stage and as he gets closer, she can see the boy is shaking. As he walks up the steps, he grips the railing tightly, tears falling down his cheeks as he looks up at Bergundility. When he comes to a stop next to the escort, he sways a little bit before asking, "Ca-can I have a chair? I might faint."

Bergundility doesn't know what the boy expects her to do. He needs to get some courage and just face the crowd. Some rustling behind her has her turning back to see Letha quickly walking over with her chair. She sets it down next to the boy and helps him sit down before giving his rustled blond hair a comforting pat. "Here you go, Davy."

"Thank you, Mrs. Calder," the boy answers, giving the victor a small smile before trying to wipe away his tears.

"Well then," Bergundility says as she watches Galen give up his seat for Letha to take. Oh what a kind man he is. "Are there any volunteers for Davy?"

Bergundility waits a few seconds to see if anyone is brave enough to step forward, but when no one does, Davy lets out a small sob. Bergundility purses her lips at this, already expecting Eva to be the tribute with the best shot. Surely the girl with determination in her eyes will make it farther than the crying boy that needed to sit down. "Well District Five, here are your tributes this year. Eva Orville-Wright and Davy Emmerich. Well go ahead, shake hands so we can get going."

Bergundility lets out a small sigh as she watches Davy stand up, putting one hand on the back of the chair to steady himself. At least he has the courage to stand up when shaking his partner's hand. Eva meets his gaze, both of them at the same height despite the age difference, and Davy backs away nervously from the look she gives him.

Well, she can only hope that she has a chance of getting a victor this year and finally getting promoted.

* * *

 **Here we go, District Five! Big thanks to HogwartsDreamer113, mukkou, and BirkaranDaSurvivorCraver for Davy, Eva, and Bergundility respectively! I hope you all enjoyed them! They were a blast to write. Davy is such a sweet cinnamon roll who gives me feels and Eva was great because I love seeing female engineers.**

 **And of course, I gotta say a big happy birthday to Dreamer! I hope you enjoyed reading Davy on your birthday and have fun now feeling 22!**

 **Alrighty, as always I would love to hear your thoughts on these two! And as we go, if you have any suggestions for allies or even just tributes you would like to see interacting, please let me know!**

 **I'll be getting back to alternating updates of this with Wayward after this chapter - I just had to do my best to get a birthday update out! Updates might slow down a bit until mid-December as I'm reaching the craziest part of my semester.**

 **I will see you next time in District Six with Courtney and Elias!**


	10. District 6: Who I'm Meant To Be

**Trigger warning: mentions of abuse in Elias' sections.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6:**

 _District Six_

 _Elias Pilkvist, 17_

 _Five Years before The Reaping_

"Do you know why you're getting the surgery today?"

Elias stares up at the doctor with wide eyes that he soon turns to his mother, needing her to tell him what response he is allowed to give to the doctor. He knows _why_ his legs need to be amputated…anyone can see the way they have been broken again and again, never quite healing correctly to the point that Elias can no longer stand on them without falling over. But is he allowed to tell the doctor the reason?

His mother levels a glare at him and shakes her head. Elias keeps his mouth shut, not wanting to go against what his mother tells him. He does not want to be punished again for being wrong. He already has had too much of that from not being good enough at fighting in their training.

"He knows," his mother speaks up to the doctor and Elias nods his head in agreement with her. "He is simply nervous about the operation and doesn't want to speak."

Elias is confused by her lie to the doctor, but does not know how to even show that confusion. Showing emotions was never taught by his parents along with how to fight people. His father always said emotions would only get in the way of winning and that is why District Six has not had more victors. But like they taught, he stays quiet. He catches his mother looking at him again and nods his head in agreement to her statement.

The doctor still continues to give him a weird look that Elias does not what she wants. It is certainly not a look that anyone in his family has ever given him. Those looks are all angry and never looking pleased with him. "Very well," she says gently before smiling at Elias. "Is it okay for me to examine your legs once more?"

Elias looks to his mother for guidance and when she nods her head, Elias does the same as he turns back to the nice doctor. The doctor gently pokes at his legs – or, at least, Elias assumes she is gently touching them by how she barely moves the legs around as she frowns at them. "I can feel multiple fracture points and healing places… How in the world did he receive so many fractures?"

Elias remains silent, just like he is supposed to whenever anyone asks about his injuries. His mother takes over for answering, fixing the doctor with a look that Elias has received many times before getting in trouble. "He is a clumsy child and falls often. His condition makes it so he doesn't notice the fractures right away."

He can only watch as his mother hands some gold over to the doctor. She is correct that Elias doesn't notice the fractures most of the time, except for the one time he was able to hear the bone snap from the cane smacking his legs. The doctor stares down at the gold for a minute before tucking it into her pocket and smiling pleasantly at his mother. "Very well, Mrs. Pilkvist. We will need to amputate both legs just below the knees. Will we be supplying prostheses for him?"

"No," his mother answers immediately, sounding disgusted at the thought of paying for the prostheses. Which she probably is…she has not stopped telling him since they found out a month ago that he needs the amputation how much of a disgraceful burden he is on the family and she is right… They tell him often how poor he is doing at training. They must be right with how often Elias is punished for not being good enough to win fights against the others. "We had a pair made. We're not spending even more money on him to have some fancy Capitol prostheses."

"Of course," the doctor answers, making Elias confused once more by the pleasant smile on her face but there is a hint of something bad in her voice. Something Elias cannot name but is familiar with hearing from his father and brother Nils. But when the doctor turns her attention to Elias, the nastiness is gone from her voice as she explains things to him. "Alight Elias, we'll take you back to get started on the surgery. We're going to put a mask on you and you will take a couple deep breaths and then you'll be asleep. By time you wake up, we'll be done with the operation. Do you have any questions?"

Elias does not have any questions because he does not understand much about the operation. Not that he would even ask them if he had them. He was told clearly before coming here to stay quiet by his mother. So he simply shakes his head at the doctor, but stops partially as an innocent question pops into his brain and he asks before thinking of the consequences, "Should I be afraid?"

The doctor gives him a smile of pity at this question. "It is understandable to be afraid of a surgery like this. But I have done this several times and every surgery was a success so you have no reason to be afraid of any consequences."

Elias simply stares at the doctor, not knowing if he should respond to her because he does not feel afraid at all. People are supposed to trust doctors so why would he be afraid of her?

"Well let's get started," the doctor says before motioning in two people that move to either side of the bed Elias is sitting on. They start pushing him out of the room and down a long hallway and Elias just stares ahead, trying not to look at his mother as she walks alongside him. He saw the look on her face and he knows that he broke one of her rules about talking to other people. He doesn't want to be punished again…

She leans over to Elias to whisper to him and he can hear in her voice that he will definitely be punished later for speaking up. "Say one other thing and you will have to lose the rest of your legs. Are we clear?" She waits for Elias to obediently nod his head at her. He understands exactly what will happen to him and he doesn't want to lose more of his legs. "Good," she says before stepping back from him and speaking louder to the doctor. "Don't waste any pain medication on him. I'm not paying for that when he doesn't need it."

* * *

 _Two Years before The Reaping_

Elias does not know what he did wrong. He waited exactly in the spot that his parents told him to wait every year once the Reaping finished – the bench right outside the flower shop by the Justice Building. He has waited for hours now and still his parents have not showed up to take him home. They must have gotten busy doing some shopping in the city after the Reaping. Why not use the trip out here for another purpose?

But yet…the sky is getting dark now. They have never taken this long to get him. And no one else has even stopped to talk to him, just leaving him to stare out blankly at the crowd that has been thinning out over the day until only a few people now rush to get home before dark.

Behind Elias, he can hear the tinkling of bells as the door to the flower shop opens. He does not turn until the shop owner stops to the right of him. "Hey kid." Elias takes a few seconds before looking up, confused if the owner is actually talking to him. He blankly stares up, just like his father always taught him to do. The owner starts looking weirdly at Elias before clearly his throat, "Why haven't you gone home yet? It's not good to be wandering the streets at night at your age."

Elias shakes his head at this, still staring up at him for seconds that start to drag on, trying to figure out what he is even allowed to tell the shop owner. "I am supposed to wait here for my parents."

The owner lets out a sigh as he keeps staring down at Elias before shaking his head. "Kid…I don't think they're showing up. Best to head home on your own."

Not…showing up? Why would they not do that? Elias stares at the owner as he heads back inside the shop and locks up the door before flipping the open sign to closed. Elias vision starts blurring and he tries blinking to clear it, confused by what is happening. He does not even know how to get home… But the nice man told him to go home. He is supposed to listen to adults.

Elias stands up, taking a few seconds to get his balance on his prosthetics before staring around the center square of town, trying to figure out which way they entered in the morning. But it looks so different at night than in the morning when it was full of people. Elias just starts walking, picking a direction to go in that he thinks is correct. He keeps walking, staring ahead and avoiding looking at people, just waiting until he will finally see some buildings that he knows as being the apartments near his home.

And yet, the sky keeps growing darker and the streetlamps turn on as Elias keeps walking, still not finding his home. Less and less people start to pass him on the street. He has no idea how long he keeps walking around, just doing what he was told to go back home.

"Hey! Are you alright?"

Elias stumbles over the sidewalk at getting startle by the voice, but he catches himself and keeps walking. He does not like getting spooked at all but he is not supposed to tell anyone that. And he is sure the person is talking to someone else. Even if they are talking to him, he is not supposed to talk to strangers.

"Wait!" The girl calls again and he hears footsteps running towards him. A girl catches up and walks next to him, staring up with wide eyes and a look Elias has never seen given to him. "What happened to you? Your legs are bleeding!"

Elias stops walking to look down at this, blinking emotionlessly at the blood dripping from where his legs were amputated and down the black prosthetics he wears. "Oh," is all he says, not sure what else to tell her. He had not even known he was bleeding, unable to feel the pain of the wounds.

"Oh? That's all?" The girl asks him in disbelief and Elias looks back up to stare at her blankly. Her face looks kind, but Elias was told not to talk to people that look like her. These people would hurt his parents if he tells them what he does. "Don't you have parents to look after you? It's almost midnight."

Elias thinks over his response, fighting against being told not to talk to strangers, yet wanting to talk to this girl. She seems very nice and the first person to say anything to him tonight since he started to try and find his way home. "I do not know where they are."

The girl starts frowning at this, looking down at Elias' legs once more. "What happened to your legs?"

"I am not supposed to talk about it to anyone," Elias tells her, falling silent as he waits for the punishment that would normally come to him from saying something like that. But the girl keeps looking up at him with concern and his parents are nowhere to be seen. "That is what my parents and Nils tell me."

"Well they're not here and I'm not letting you keep walking around with those injuries," the girl stubbornly says and starts walking again. After a few steps, she turns back and waves at Elias. "Come on, you're coming with me. I don't live too far from here."

"Okay," Elias says obediently before starting to follow after her.

She keeps talking away, glancing back often to make sure he is still following her. "I'm Cecy, by the way. Do you have a name?"

"Yes, I do have a name," Elias answers her question as she slows down in front of a tiny shack tucked between two factories.

"Well, this is my home," Cecy says fondly, staring at the small shack with a smile before turning back to Elias. "In we go. And you didn't tell me what your name is."

Elias follows Cecy inside the one room shack. There is not much in it, barely enough for one person to live in, but it feels like a comforting home to Elias. More comforting than his own home ever was. "Elias," he slowly responds, still looking around in wonder at the small shack Cecy lives in. "Do you live here on your own?"

"Yes I do, now sit," Cecy commands as she points at one of the two mismatched chairs and Elias quickly obeys her. Once sitting, Cecy stares down at his legs, her young face full of concern before she grabs a rag and dips it in water. "How did you not notice this?"

Elias watches her start wiping away the blood from his prosthetics, confused that she is doing this for him. He does not even know her. "I do not feel pain," Elias tells her, getting a wide eyed look from her. "Is that weird?"

"A bit," Cecy says with a short laugh before turning back to her work. "Can I take these off?" She asks him and he nods his head at her. She gently removes them, revealing open sores from where his legs were amputated. "Who made these? And how can you walk on these? They're terrible. I can't let you leave until I fix them."

"Okay," Elias agrees to her but knows he cannot stay here forever. "But I have to find my parents."

"Sure," Cecy says as she sets the prosthetics down on the table gently next to a bunch of pieces of metal and tools to tinker with them. She looks around the small shack, sighing before turning back to Elias. "You can stay with me until you find your parents but you have to pull your wait. I can barely pay for myself, let alone you too. So what can you do?"

Elias stares at Cecy, trying to think what he can even do. He only knows what his parents have taught him over the years: how to be obedient and how to fight. "I can fight?" His words turn into a question, unsure if he should even tell Cecy this. But the young girl is being so nice to him and he likes her.

Cecy grins up at him at this, "Yeah? Well Elias, have you ever heard of District Six's fighting rings?" Elias shakes his head no at her. Surely she is not talking about the fighting rings his parents and their friends put him in. "Well you'll see what they're all about soon. And once I have these fixed we'll see just what you're made of."

* * *

 _Four Months before The Reaping_

"Cecy, I need your help," Elias says right away as he steps into the shack, having thought about what he was going to say to Cecy the entire walk home from the fighting pits.

"Hi Elias," Cecy looks up from her tinkering at the table of the shack, her warm brown eyes hidden by the goggles she always wears while working on things. She gives Elias a warm smile that he always loves seeing when he gets back home from the fighting rings. "How did the fights go tonight?"

Elias thinks over his response as he sits down at the table with her, trying to figure out what exactly she means. "I won the fights. I also got a letter from someone saying they are a representative of some man in the fighting pits. They did not tell me who it was, just that he is important." Elias stops talking, unsure about asking her for her help after she already helps him with so much. But if the letter will help out Cecy, he will do whatever it says. Anything for her. So he pulls out the letter from his jacket and holds it out to Cecy, "Can you please help me read it?"

"Of course," Cecy takes her goggles off and puts them around her neck before taking the letter from Elias and opening it. She moves her chair over so Elias can read the letter as she reads it aloud. Her lessons are always enjoyable and he finds himself grinning as Cecy starts talking, " _Elias, you have made quite a stir in the fighting pits I run. Enough to catch my attention. I would like to offer you the opportunity to become my personal champion. Should you keep winning, you'll earn triple what you're making now._ " Cecy gasps at this and Elias looks at her, worried she is in pain or something from her gasp. Instead, she gives a proud smile as she stares up at Elias, "Elias…this is amazing! Wow" she says quietly to herself before turning back to the letter. "But who is this person?"

"I do not know," Elias tells her honestly, although he wishes he could give her an answer. He thinks over everything he knows about the man that runs the fighting pits, the man who wants Elias to be his champion. "No one knows who he is. I heard someone call him the Faceless Man."

"Then that's what we'll call him," Cecy says as she looks back down at the note, reading it again silently. "Triple the pay… We'll be able to finally save up enough to buy that house we want. Elias…" Cecy looks up at him, her face immediately growing concerned for him. "Why are you crying?"

Elias does not know why he is crying. He is just so happy at the thought that he can help Cecy buy that house they always walk past and talk about how they would paint it all sorts of colors, just like he has painted their shack. "Because I am happy. That money will help you out…" Elias hesitates, staring at Cecy for a few long seconds as he blinks his eyes and wipes a hand across his cheek. When he looks down at it, he can see the glistening tears on his fingers from the tears he could not feel running down his cheeks. "Are you not supposed to cry when you are happy?"

Cecy pats him on the arm and gives him a smile, one he studies for a few seconds before doing his best to imitate her. "Not usually unless you are very happy. Then it's tears of joy."

"I am very happy," Elias continues his forced smile at her. Why would he not be very happy right now?

"So am I," Cecy tells him, still smiling at him and making him feel even happier. "How about I make some bread and butter pudding to celebrate?" Cecy asks him, smiling proudly up at Elias. "I'm proud of you."

Elias' eyes start watering once more and this time he knows for sure that they are happy tears. He loves her bread and butter pudding, even if he can't taste it well. But Cecy makes it for him and that makes it special. And she is proud of him… She is the only person who has ever told him that they are proud of him. He does not know what the feeling inside of him is, but he knows he wants to keep feeling this. So he will do whatever it takes to be the Faceless Man's champion and keep winning fights. "Yes please."

* * *

 _Courtney Cassini, 16_

 _One Year Before The Reaping_

Courtney didn't know what to expect dinner to be like the first night after the divorce was finalized, but she is quite happy with what it's turned out to be. It's more fun than any of the dinners ever were with her mother there, always trying to stop her from having conversations like the one tonight. So at least there's one bright side to all of this – Courtney can fully be herself with no one telling her otherwise and her father is so much happier now that his wife is no longer there and being negative towards everything Courtney does. And she'll admit, it's rather nice to go a full day without getting told she can't be interested in engineering simply because she's a girl. Why should her gender have any impact on her hobbies and career plans? It's silly, but no longer a problem.

No, her problem right now is convincing Leanne that she's wrong about using hovercrafts to travel into space.

"Leanne, you're simply not getting it," Courtney tells her friend, able to see the annoyance in her friend's eyes from losing one of their speculative arguments. "A hovercraft is not going to be able to withstand the pressure of space and make it to Mars. Not without some serious alterations to the structural design of the craft and the engines."

"Well you're simply not listening to me!" Leanne responds and Courtney can tell she's starting to get upset from the argument, which isn't want Courtney wanted at all but she is simply stating the facts.

"I am listening to you and that's how I know what you're saying is incorrect," Courtney tells her friend, keeping her voice calm. She wouldn't really call this an argument, more of a scientific discussion, one they have often. "I do study this stuff."

"But pre-Panem society was able to successfully get into space with _way_ less technology than we have today. That's why I'm telling you hovercrafts would make it to Mars!" Leanne doesn't look convinced that she's made Courtney listen to her and turns to Courtney's father. "Come on, Mr. Cassini, back me up here!"

He holds up his hands defensively, amused smile on his face as he watches the two girls have their discussion/. "I'm staying out of this debate."

Courtney can see Leanne growing upset and tries to end the debate so her friend doesn't feel so bad about losing. There's no sense in getting upset about logic. And why ruin her day by getting upset at something trivial like this? "How about we just agree to disagree? And then another day we can continue and you'll see you're incorrect."

Leanne puts her fork down loudly, staring at Courtney for a few seconds before suddenly pushing back her chair and storming away from the table without another word. Courtney just turns to her father, confused by what she did wrong. "Why did she get so angry? I just told her the facts."

"Courtney," her father says carefully, trying to keep his tone calm. "I've learned over the years that women can get very upset over things that you think are trivial. And most teenage girls are not as logical as you and tend to overreact without thinking."

"Oh…" Courtney answers, not realizing she did something wrong. But she didn't, she was just presenting the facts. "I should probably go talk to her then."

"That's a very good idea," her father answers immediately, clearly about to tell her that.

Courtney sets her napkin on the table and heads towards the stairs where she can hear Leanne stomping around upstairs. Hopefully Leanne doesn't stay mad for long, there's no reason to get mad about this. She counts the fifteen steps up and once at the upper level, she pauses to hear where Leanne went and heads towards her room. But when she reaches the doorway, she stops in panic at the sight she sees. "Leanne, what are you doing?"

Her friend looks up from her hands holding a pair of scissors and a t-shirt as Courtney quickly walks into the room. Courtney gasps when she realizes what shirt her friend has been cutting up and quickly snatches it away before any more damage can be done. "I got this shirt the very first time I saw BTR in concert!" Courtney's eyes start watering as she stares at the holes in the shirt, one even cutting through her favorite member of the band.

"I'm so sorry," Leanne tells her, voice quivering as she tries not to look at Courtney. "I-I don't know what came over me. I was just so angry and you weren't listening to me!" Her friend's eyes start watering as she looks at Courtney just staring down at the shirt, trying to figure out what to do about it. "I-I'm sorry, I shouldn't have touched your BTR shirt!"

Courtney hates seeing her friend upset and any small bit of anger she might have had at her friend quickly dissipates. She can tell Leanne genuinely feels bad so why should Courtney stay mad? "I suppose I can still wear it… Might have to wear a tank top under it or something." Courtney holds up the shirt, able to see right through the shirt where it would be right over her chest. "Okay definitely need a tank top under it."

"Are you…" Leanne hiccups as she starts wiping away at her eyes as Courtney glances over at her. "Are you mad at me?"

"No," Courtney says with a sigh as she takes another look over at her shirt. There's nothing she can do about it now so why stay mad at Leanne? "I do own seven other BTR shirts. And now you just made me a one of a kind tour shirt!"

Leanne lets out a small laugh at this but shakes her head at Courtney. "I don't know how you're not mad at me or how you always find a way to find something positive. I wish I was more like you… If I was, I wouldn't have done this."

Courtney suddenly hugs her friend, wanting to cheer her up. "Carpe diem, Leanne! Just gotta keep reminding yourself that life's short and there's no point staying mad about things you can't change." Courtney steps back from her friend, keeping her hands on her shoulders as Leanne still doesn't want to look at her. "Am I happy you cut up my favorite BTR shirt? Of course not. But it's done so time to keep moving forward! You'll have to do something a lot worse to make me not want to be your friend."

"Worse than cutting up your BTR shirt?" Leanne asks in disbelief, knowing just how much Courtney loves the band. Anyone can tell by simply looking around the room and seeing all the posters hanging. "I don't know what I could possibly do that's worse than that."

"Me neither, so looks like you're stuck being my friend for a while."

* * *

 _Five Months Before The Reaping_

"This is terrible."

Courtney stares out the window of her bedroom on the second floor of the apartment at the large amount of snow that accumulated overnight. There has to be at least six feet of snow by her best estimation, which is usually pretty spot on. She doesn't even think she can see out the windows at all on the first level with how high the snow is. And it doesn't seem like it's stopping anytime soon.

"What's terrible, dear?" Her father asks as he walks over to her. He stops next to her at the window and hands her a mug of hot chocolate, a rare treat that he usually only gives on special occasions. Like, say, a snow day that's shut down the entire city. "You don't have class today and everyone is off from work. Well," he chuckles to himself and shrugs when Courtney turns her attention away from the snow and over to him. "I did tell my boss I would still do some work from home. Why waste a day when there's still stuff that can be done?"

"That's true," Courtney answers softly before taking a sip of her hot chocolate. Well one bright side of today is getting this drink. "I do have a project to replicate a hovercraft design just based on pictures of them in a CAD software. I was planning on doing that this weekend but why not get it done early?"

"There you go, kiddo," her father smiles as he holds his mug towards her and she lightly taps her mug against his. "See, not the end of the world that we're stuck inside. And I can even work on your project with you a bit."

"Yeah, but I needed to go outside today," Courtney starts frowning, sighing dramatically. Her father gets an amused smile, recognizing her teen angst over a band. She gestures to her shirt, still torn up from the mishap with Leanne. "BTR's new cd is out today and I was going to go to the record store after class to pick it up! Now we probably can't even get out the front door!"

"Courtney," her father starts, tone telling her she's missing something very obvious. But she simply doesn't know what it is, all she can think about is how everyone else is going to hear Beyond The Realm's new songs before her. "Even if you could get out of the house – which, you can since I was shoveling early this morning – everything is closed."

"Oh," Courtney responds, staring back out the window at the snow falling once more. "You're right. Well, I suppose the songs will still be there tomorrow. And if I waited 55 days since the announcement, I can wait one more day."

Her father pats her on the shoulder at that and gives her a warm smile. "There's my positive daughter again. You can't help that we got this snow storm. No one was predicting it would be this bad."

"It was just the combination of the right conditions to create this much snow," Courtney grins up at her father. "It was the combination of a low pressure system moving over the entire length of the lake that was at a much higher temperature than the storm, thus creating unstable atmospheric conditions at lower elevations. Thus, that happened," Courtney gestures outside at the feet of snow surrounding them.

"Yes, that happened," her father shakes his head at the snow but when he turns back to Courtney, he has a proud look on his face. "I'm glad I have you around to explain the weather and space. What would I do without my own personal weatherperson?"

"Well you could just listen to the news report," Courtney answers matter of factly, turning away from the window towards her desk to grab her work to bring with her to her father's office so they can work together. She always loves the days working with him and she's just going to focus on that today and not the cd she could have been listening to right now. And why wouldn't she enjoy spending the day with the person who has always encouraged her to pursue whatever interests she has, unlike her mother? That might be the best part of the snow day. "Well best get to work. The sooner we get started, the sooner we can make lunch."

Her father chuckles at this as she sets down her mug so she can start gathering all of her stuff from her desk, counting each item to make sure she has everything she needs to work on her assignment. _Design paper, reference photos, pencils, pencil sharpener, eraser, headphones and BTR's last cd._ Seven things, excellent. Once all the supplies are carefully balanced in one arm, she picks up her mug of hot chocolate again and turns around to face her father, finding him standing in the same spot and smiling over at her. "Well?"

"I raised a workaholic," he chuckles while shaking his head at her, but she can tell he's not really disappointed in her.

"You're the one that taught me your work ethic," Courtney answers him as he walks over to her, ruffling her short hair and just making her grin up at him.

"Oh I'm aware, your mother only told me that every day," he laughs a bit as he motions Courtney over to the door and follows after her. Courtney listens to him as she counts the steps down. " _You're corrupting our daughter!_ " He starts, raising the pitch of his voice and making it nasally to mimic his former wife at her worst, making Courtney nearly snort out her hot chocolate she was unfortunate enough to be taking a sip of at that time." _She should be playing with girls, not dreaming of space and running around with those boys she calls friends. She even picks her nose in public!_ "

Courtney laughs loudly at him as they reach the bottom of the stairs, struggling to keep from spilling her hot chocolate. His impression is just spot on. "I was doing that before I ever became friends with the four guys and I'll probably still do it for a long time."

"Didn't matter to her," her father laughs a bit more before letting out a content sigh as he holds open the door to his office for Courtney. Stepping inside the small but cozy space, Courtney just feels right in place. The desk takes up most of the room, about 15 square feet of the room, nearly half of it, organized efficiently with her father's work regulating the delivery schedules and paths of the many trains traveling around the country. One wall is taken up by a few scarcely filled bookshelves that she's all read, opposite the wall with a big map of Panem covered in the railway lines.

Someday she'll have her own office just like this. But instead of a map of Panem, she'll have a map of the stars.

"But it doesn't matter anymore what she thinks," Courtney finally responds as she takes a seat across from her father and sets down her stuff, careful to not disturb any of his work. "All that matters is we're happy with our work and I don't know about you but I'm very happy studying astronomy and engineering related to it."

Her father gives her a proud look at this as he sits down in his spot, crossing his hands on his desk and just looking at her for a few seconds. "Courtney, just make sure to have some fun today," her father says before they can both get fully started with their work. She glances up at him from where she was organizing her supplies on her half of his desk, a little confused because this is fun to her. "It's a rare snow day and you're still a teenager. Do you think anyone else is actually doing work today?"

"Probably, yeah," Courtney answers with a shrug of her shoulders. "Why not take advantage of a day off to get work done? It means less stress later and my weekend can be more open now."

"Well how about you work for half the day and then invite your friends over? You're not too old yet to have some fun out in the snow." Her father pauses to laugh a bit before continuing, "That is assuming they can actually dig their way out of their houses. They can even stay for dinner if they want."

"You're right," Courtney nods her head at him as she starts smiling at the thought of the terrible, and by terrible she means totally awesome, snowball fight her friends will try to start in this weather. It would be a waste of a snow day to not have some fun out in the snow! "Okay deal, I'll work on this project until after lunch and then call around to see who can actually make it over!"

* * *

"Courtney, the probability of this being a really bad idea is very high."

"Leanne, don't be a party pooper!" James calls at her friend, staring up at Courtney crouching on the roof right outside her window on the second floor. She can see her best friend shaking her head at Courtney, but it only makes her grin.

"Yeah, Leanne, what James said," she calls down to them in the small yard where they stand, struggling to move around in the high snow. "I've did the calculation on this and it will be fine!"

"But you're jumping off the roof of the second floor into a pile of snow!" Leanne says in a loud whisper, nervously glancing down at the first floor to make sure Courtney's father doesn't hear her. It's unlikely he will since he's been on a conference call for the last hour.

"I know and it's going to be awesome!" Courtney calls down, still gripping her windowsill. She can't help her grin as she stares down at them, always loving heights – she's spent so many nights sitting on this small bit of roof and staring up at the stars with her father. Really, he's the one to blame for her love of heights. And she loves getting challenged to do crazy things. Which is exactly what James and Kendall knew when they bet Courtney wouldn't jump off her roof into the snow. It's a shame that only two of the guys could make it over today to see this, but her father had said they might not be able to dig their way out of the snow. Logan couldn't and Carlos was at his grandmother's house, helping shovel the snow out of her front porch. But at least two of them could make it over!

Courtney can tell Leanne still doesn't look convinced at all by this. "Come on, Leanne, I did the math, it's just a simple projectile problem! I'm only falling fifteen feet but it's more like seven with how high the snow is. Gravity is barely going to have any time to make me pick up velocity and cause an injury."

Leanne sighs at her and shakes her head some more before turning away from Courtney. "If you get hurt, I'm going to say I told you so."

"Reasonable and I wouldn't expect anything else from you," Courtney responds to her friend, still grinning about the jump. Leanne just worries too much and life is way too short to not do some crazy stuff sometimes. "Alright boys, give me a countdown!"

The two boys cheer at this and Courtney laughs in excitement as she lets go of the windowsill, making sure she's steady crouching down and ready to jump forward. Last thing she needs is to lose her balance while jumping and hit her head on the roof. She gives a thumbs up down to her friends and they start the countdown.

"Three! …Two! …One! GO!"

At go, Courtney braces herself before jumping forward, letting out a yell of excitement when her feet leave the roof and she starts falling towards the huge fluffy pile of snow. She's barely in the air before she hits the snow, sinking down into it but not reaching the ground, just like she expected from her calculations. She starts laughing from the adrenaline rush as snow starts falling onto her face and she wipes it away. She can hear James and Kendall cheering some more at her jump but also the crunching of snow as Leanne makes her way over. Soon enough, she sees her friend's concerned face peering down at her and Courtney grins up at her. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah that was awesome!" Courtney laughs some more as she puts her hands out to try and sit up, only for them to sink farther into the snow. "Okay I didn't think about how I was actually going to get out of here."

Leanne shakes her head down at Courtney, clearly trying to fight off a smile on her face in an attempt to not encourage Courtney from doing more things like this. "I should just leave you down there for scaring me."

"You could but within 30 minutes I'm going to start getting frost bite," Courtney tells her as she hears the boys starting to walk over. "And while this would be an interesting story to tell my kids someday about thirty years from now, I do prefer having all ten toes."

"Alright, alright," Leanne says, finally unable to hold in a laugh at her friend. "James, give me a hand."

* * *

 _Thorichelle 'Thori' Asia Shamon, Escort for District Six_

Thori could barely sleep the night before. All she could think about all night is everything that could possibly go wrong today. She didn't want to go to District Six – or any of the Districts, for that matter. What if the mentors try to influence her into using drugs? She's heard that's a problem here. Or what if a vehicle malfunctions and hits her? And what if someone knows about her family and attacks her?

She wishes she could have just stayed back home in the Capitol, figured out some way to delay her family from basically making her take a job related to the Games. She could have tried to be a Gamemaker or something, at least then she wouldn't have to be talking to people. But when President Xavier personally called her parents and asked if someone in their family could be an escort, they simply couldn't say no.

And if the President of Panem is asking the Shamon family for an escort, something bad must be happening with rebels. There's no other reason he would allow a sixteen year old to be an escort unless he needed her loyalist family involved. _But why did she have to be an escort?_

Thori's been dreading the mayor finishing up the speech, knowing that means it's time for her to go out on stage. When her name is called, she can barely force her feet to move forward onto the stage, fear almost keeping her locked in place. She tenses up as she steps outside, ready for the crowd to start yelling at her or throwing things at her, all for who she is related to. But when they just give a small bit of obligatory applause, she only slightly relaxes her tense shoulders as she steps over to the microphone. "Hi-" she cringes at the feedback from the microphone and takes a step back, already wishing she could just get inside and hide from the crowd staring up at her. She anxiously puts arms behind her back, fidgeting with the ends of the gold sleeves. "I, uh…I'm Thori, your escort?" Her voice raises into a question, unsure what she's even supposed to be doing. She hears some snickers in the crowd and immediately looks down at the stage, wishing desperately she was anywhere but here right now. "Yeah, uh, let's just pick the tributes."

Thori quickly walks over to the right side of the stage, stumbling over her gold boots. She briefly shuts her eyes, trying to pretend she _didn't_ just trip over her own feet in front of all of Panem. But she quickly opens them back up, more afraid of not being able to see what's going on around her. Thori just picks a name quickly from the bowl and all but runs back to the microphone, desperate to get this over with already. "Elias…Pilkvist?"

The boy section starts rustling and Thori cringes at herself. Great, she picked the wrong tribute first. Everyone is going to make fun of her for this. But now she has to worry about how the person she picked is going to react and she hopes he won't scream and yell at her.

But no one moves towards the stage and Peacekeepers start moving into the crowd. As they reach Elias near the front of the crowd, he cries out at them. "No! Cecy! No, don't take me!"

Thori immediately starts feeling upset for the boy having a breakdown at being reaped, knowing it's all her fault. He keeps crying out for Cecy and Thori just wants to hide from the crowd. It's all she can do to keep from crying at the boy panicking. _She caused this._

"Elias!" A girl calls to him as Elias reaches the aisle between the sections, practically being carried up to the stage by the Peacekeepers. He stops his crying at his name, turning to look over at a girl hanging over the rope around her the section to look at him. "It's going to be alright. Just quiet down and go with them, okay?"

Elias nods his head at her and stops yelling, but as he gets closer to the stage Thori can see tears still falling down his cheeks. The Peacekeepers drop him on the stage next to her and when he's barely able to catch himself, that's when Thori glances down and notices the prosthetics on his legs. _Oh God, losing a leg is one of her worst fears and he lost both._

Elias stares down at her, eyes still crying and full of fear that Thori knows she's matching. She can't handle looking at the boy older than her that she just picked to go to the Games and turns back to the crowd, but that's almost worst. "Is ther-" she stumbles on her words as she tries to ignore the crying boy next to her. "Is there any v-volunteers?"

No one steps forward for Elias. But no one has volunteered in Six since Jarle did nearly twenty years ago.

Desperate to end this disaster of a Reaping already, Thori just goes to the other glass sphere full of names. But she hesitates before picking a name and turns back to stare at Elias. Who else's life is she going to ruin?

She should have just told her parents no to doing this.

Trying not to think about it, Thori picks another name and returns to the microphone and just quickly says the name. "C-Courtney Cassini."

Courtney doesn't wait for Peacekeepers to escort her onto the stage, stepping out from among the other sixteen year olds, a hesitant smile on her face as she approaches the stage. She looks so casual for the Reaping, wearing a nice jacket over a torn up Beyond The Realm shirt. But at least she isn't looking at Thori with fear as she reaches the escort, smiling up at her and hiding the disappointment in her eyes.

Thori has to look away as she realizes that Courtney is the same age as her. In a different life they could have been in the same class together at school. The only thing different about them is just the place they were born. Thori could have easily been in Courtney's shoes.

"Any volunteers?" Thori squeaks out, trying to stop the panic at the realization she's having thanks to Courtney being reaped. "No? Okay I guess we're all done then!" Thori quickly blinks her eyes, trying to keep it all together and not start crying in front of Panem. "Go ahead and shake hands?"

Thori watches them and Courtney sticks her hand out first while Elias stares at her for a few seconds before taking her hand. As soon as they're done, Thori starts taking steps backwards to get off the stage as quickly as she can. She never should have taken this job. How is she supposed to work with two people her age? How is she supposed to help them when she's not even an adult yet?

And the worst part she's slowly realizing is that she might have just picked two people her age to go to their deaths.

* * *

 **It's been a little while with this story but I'm officially on winter break so time to make some good progress on this story! Big thanks to Little Knight Mik for Elias and Platrium for both Courtney and Thori! They were both a lot of fun to write for very different reasons and I hope I did well with them! And now we have officially passed the halfway point with the intros, woo!**

 **As always, I love to hear what you think about these two! And what do you think about Elias' condition given the quell twist? For anyone who is curious and would like to read more, it is called HSAN2! Oh and anyone spot the connection with Thori/know who her family is?**

 **Okay I'm hoping to have D7 out next weekend! So hopefully I'll see you then!**


	11. For The Greater Good

**Chapter 7:**

 _Mendalius Xavier, President of Panem_

 _One Month Before The Quell_

The call was made to assemble the Council as soon as Mendalius was off the phone with the warden of the prison. He can't say he is completely shocked that the rebels attempted this. He's been expecting it but he certainly didn't think they would succeed.

Mendalius lets out a heavy sigh as he stares at the door to his office, silently sipping tea as he waits for the three Council members to arrive. It has been awhile since they were called to deal with something of this magnitude, most of the recent meetings being of a positive nature to discuss logistics of the new universities. He had counted on his Council often in the early years of his presidency but now he only calls on them for the most important situations.

It's safe to say that the escape of the eldest daughter of one of the five rebel leaders is certainly one of those situations.

The first to arrive, not to any surprise to Mendalius, is Theodosius Cordessi. If there was a single person who exemplified everything people believed about residents of District Two, that person is Theodosius. A tall, hulking man, he does not look a day over 50, let alone his actual age of 66. His appearance contains remnants of his time leading the Peacekeepers in District Two. He's the most patriotic man that Mendalius knows and he will make sure everyone knows how much he supports the Capitol. It was precisely for those reasons that Mendalius chose him.

Right behind Theodosius is the person to counter him, Luciano Samson. A very valuable member of the Council, Luciano keeps Mendalius in check to the needs of the rest of the Districts. Hailing from District Seven, they've kept their appearance matching that of their old companions instead of embracing life in the Capitol. But the ability to blend back in to Seven is crucial for their connection to the rebels. Luciano has been working as a double agent for years, which makes them extremely valuable now given what has happened.

But the most valuable person to Mendalius on the Council is the last one to enter, Rosabella Venezia. Coming from right here in the Capitol, she has been on the Cabinet the longest of the three at 30 years now and Mendalius would have been lost without her many times. Not only does she always give suggestions for the best of all of Panem, not just the Capitol or the Districts, she's been a good friend to him. She's one of the few people he considers as a daughter.

There's a somber mood among the three of them as they take their seats across from him, all too aware that he wouldn't have called a sudden meeting like this if it wasn't something terrible. And he hates admitting it to himself, but he's afraid of the consequences. "Hello everyone. I wish I wasn't calling you in but we have a national security threat to address. Khaya Christian has escaped." Mendalius pauses, taking a sip of his tea to try and collect his thoughts as various degrees of shock pass over the three faces. Luciano doesn't quite look surprised at all and Mendalius addresses them first, "You're not surprised…"

Luciano looks around at the others before shrugging at Mendalius. "Given what I know about their rebel leaders and how they feel about their children, I'm not surprised they would attempt to break her out. But I'm surprised they succeeded."

"This never would have happened under my guard," Theodosius says coolly, but Mendalius can see the disappointment in his eyes. "If I was warden and knew an extremely valuable prisoner was being transported, I would have personally escorted them."

"I need you on my council, not watching over prisoners," Mendalius tells him, not wanting to get in an argument about this now. Theodosius is right, no doubt about it. But his knowledge and sway with the population of Two would be wasted guarding the prison. "Rosabella? You're quiet about this…"

"Well, I'm worried," she says softly, glancing at the two people on either side of her. "I feel like there's more to this than just rescuing a family member. Why rescue her so close to the start of the Quell?"

"That's my concern as well…" Mendalius agrees with her quietly, watching the other two both grow concerned as they realize this too. He taps his fingers on his desk, trying to think of what to do next. "First concern is to figure out what they're up to. Luciano?"

"On it," they respond immediately, nodding their head at him. "I think it's time for me to make a trip back home to Seven and see what I can find out."

"Just be careful there," Mendalius tells them and they nod their head, but they both know Luciano won't be safe until they are back in the Capitol. "Theodosius, can you send your best undercover agents with them?"

"Absolutely. I can even go with them if you want me to."

Mendalius smiles a little at him and holds out his hand, having expected his response. "No, I have something for you to do here. I want you protecting the Games Headquarters from now until we have stopped the rebels. I want everyone there protected, the tributes, the victors, all the Gamemakers. I don't want Tara Lukianas killing me if her only son gets shot again."

"They'll all be safe under my watch," Theodosius manages to sit up even straighter, looking proud that the President is giving him this task. "Nothing like what happened last year is going to happen again."

"What about me?" Rosabella asks, looking a little disappointed that she hasn't been assigned a task yet.

"You're going to be working with me," Mendalius tells her, knowing he needs her guidance with the next steps. "Because with each step towards improving the country, their resistance grows. I simply don't understand and I want to. Do they not see what I'm trying to do?"

"They do, sir," Luciano says matter-of-factly, and of course they know the answer. "But it's not enough for them. Not until the Games end."

"Do they think we're blind to the fact that children die each year?" Rosabella speaks up, quick to defend Mendalius, and Luciano just gives her a look stating that's exactly what the rebels think. "We need to have the support of every District if we were to make a change. If even one District doesn't support us, it will ultimately fail. And Theodosius can tell you better than me just how well One and Two would take a change to the Games."

"Not well, unless…" Theodosius pauses, immediately making Mendalius curious what he is thinking. He is a man that simply does not hesitate. "If you get the support of victors, the rest of the District will soon follow. You know my niece, her husband, and grandmother will provide support if I talk to them."

"Yes, we know you're related to victors," Luciano barely contains their distrust towards people that would willingly go into the Games. "You find a way to mention it every time we meet."

"Can you blame me?" Theodosius laughs at them, not caring that they are bothered by his victor relatives. "I'm proud that my niece won the Fifth Quarter Quell and I won't ever not be proud of her."

Mendalius holds up his hand to stop Luciano before they start arguing, all too familiar with the signs and that is exactly where they're heading now. "Theodosius has a good point about the victors. One and Two look up to their victors probably more than they look up to the Capitol. We need to make sure we have their support."

"I will talk to Glacia," Theodosius says with a single nod of his head. "District Two will not let you down."

"Well neither will Seven," Luciano quickly says and Mendalius shares an amused look with Rosabella. Luciano might just be the only person to stand up to the former commander of the Peacekeepers. "You think Stefan wants to keep watching kids die each year after being Seven's only victor for years? And they'll all get their friends to support this."

Theodosius looks amused by their challenge before they both turn their attention back to Mendalius. But the next one to speak up is Rosabella, "I bet I could get more victors supporting us than both of you combined."

"Unlikely."

"I doubt that."

Mendalius watches with an amused look as Rosabella shrugs at the two, knowing exactly what strings she could pull. "Did either of you two spend the last year working with Clark? No?"

"I think," Mendalius starts as he watches the smug look on Rosabella's face and stops the others before they can start talking again, knowing they're quickly getting derailed. "It will not be a problem getting the support of the victors should we ever act, even in the career Districts. But right now, we need to be focused on the immediate threat of the rebels. I don't want everything I worked for my entire life to come crashing down because I couldn't pay attention to the wants of my country."

Luciano is the first to speak up, all joking aside, "Sir, we won't let that happen. You've worked harder than anyone else I've ever known to improve Panem."

"Agreed, sir," Theodosius echoes, giving a swift nod of his head.

Mendalius smiles at the two, fully appreciating the support they're providing to him now and have provided over the years. "Thank you. Now, we have tasks to do." Mendalius stands up at that and the three quickly follow after him. "Luciano, there's a train of supplies heading out to Seven that you can be on. And Theodosius, well, you know your way to the Games Headquarters. I'll call ahead and let Seraphim know you'll be there indefinitely."

"Yes, sir," Theodosius salutes him and Mendalius smiles in return before the man turns around and walking out, still as if he is working in the Peacekeepers.

Luciano waits until the door is shut to address Mendalius. "My communication will probably be limited once I get to Seven. Anything else I should try to learn more about while I'm there?"

"Keep track of anything suspicious that's happening or just occurred," Mendalius tells them, growing concerned for them even though they're the safest person to send to the rebels. "And stay safe."

"I'll try my best, sir," Luciano answers before following after Theodosius.

Mendalius waits until the door is shut to let out a sigh and sit back down. He rubs his eyes before looking at Rosabella, seeing she wants to tell him something. "You can say whatever it is you're hesitating about."

"Sir…" Rosabella says carefully as she sits back down across from him. She nervously picks at her lip, a habit Mendalius has noticed she's been doing a lot lately. "I think it might be time to implement the plan."

* * *

 _Khaya Christian, Rebel_

As Khaya stumbles after Ashla through the outskirts of Seven and closer to civilization, barely able to hold back her tears enough to see where she's going, she can only hope the group has a plan.

They had been met at their landing site by a small group in Peacekeeper outfits, nearly making Khaya take one of the abandoned guns and end things before ever going back to being a prisoner. She could not take one more day in that hell. But it turned out the majority of the group are actual Peacekeepers in Seven, and, much to her surprise, her sister Larisa. But the reunion was far from warm as Larisa quickly led them away, ordering one of guards to take Cedar's body.

Khaya has been unable to look at the guard carrying her friend, refusing to admit that he's gone and it's all her fault. She'd much rather face the glares of her sister desperate for the role she has than the loss of Cedar. "Larisa," she wheezes as she struggles to keep up with her, her body so week from nearly a year in prison. "Where are we going?"

Seconds pass as they start passing some residences, hidden in the trees by the rapidly darkening sky, and Khaya starts to think that Larisa won't answer her. "The current safe house," she finally says as they enter the backyard of a very large house. Khaya stares up at it, wondering just who is living there and supporting the rebels.

"Wait…safe house?" Khaya asks, Larisa as a guard steps out from the house to meet them. Larisa takes off her helmet and she's recognized immediately. The guard steps aside, quickly motioning them inside the house. Khaya freezes at the doorway, stumbling back into one of the guards as she sees the commander of the Peacekeepers in Seven standing there. "Larisa, get back!"

"Khaya, it's okay."

Khaya lets out a sob at the voice and the Head Peacekeeper steps aside, allowing Khaya to see her father standing there. Ilarion Christian holds out his arms and Khaya stumbles into them, clutching her father's chest and just letting out the tears she's kept pent up since the escape started. "Dad!"

"Oh I'm so glad you're safe," he whispers, running a hand over her hair. "I never should have let you leave."

"It was my choice," Khaya tells him as she steps back. He wipes away her tears before kissing the top of her head, clearly trying to hold back his own tears. "I wanted to do this to help the cause."

"I know, honey, I know," he replies and keeps running a hand over her hair. He starts frowning as he looks over her, "I should have convinced Vera to send out the rescue party sooner. Speaking of," he glances over his shoulder before turning back to Khaya, "Come with me."

Khaya nods her head, really unsure what else she can even say to him right now with how tight her throat feels right now. He leads her further into the house, keeping a hand protectively on her shoulder as they reach the living room and Khaya comes to a stop, completely surprised by all the people present.

There's only been one time Khaya has ever seen all three rebel leaders and their children together in one place. She has _never_ seen all five leaders and family together at one time. There's herself and her father Ilarion, who takes his place next to Anton Martinez. Khaya can barely make eye contact with him, knowing she's the reason his eldest son is now dead. She doesn't want to see the pain there that's present in her own eyes.

Khaya recognizes Pierre Ottlinger from what her father has described of their appearance before. It's pretty safe to say the person with tanned skin and sun kissed hair is the rebel leader from Four. They give her a lazy smile and a nod of their head that she tries to return. Then there is Rosana Arnott from Eleven. Khaya's heard stories of her and she has always admired the woman related to the girl that helped build Katniss into the Mockingjay all those years ago. If these two are here, either life in their home Districts has gotten very bad or something very big has been planned while she's been gone.

And then there's the woman Khaya risked everything for: Vera Snow. Daughter of Celestia Snow, no one would have guessed the granddaughter of the worst president in the history of Panem would become the leaders of the rebels. But when she was kidnapped as a child during the last rebellion, she proved to resent everything her grandfather stood for. And Vera Snow is no different.

"Hello, ma'am," Khaya says nervously as she steps into the center of the room. She keeps her eyes down nervously, not wanting to meet the gazes of the most important people in the rebellion. She resents this, knowing she never would have acted this way before her time in prison.

"Welcome home," Vera says calmly, taking a few steps closer to Khaya. She nervously brings up her gaze, finding Vera's stare warm but calculating. "We are glad to have you safe here again but…deeply saddened by what happened to Cedar."

Khaya can hear Anton Martinez barely hold back a sob and refuses to meet his gaze. "It's my fault," she whispers, knowing she's going to regret this the rest of her life. "He died saving me."

"He knew the risks of the mission, just like you did when you first went to the Capitol," Vera tells her resolutely and Khaya obediently nods her head. "It's a risk we all take to end the corruption in the country," she raises her voice and looks around at the whole group. She brings her gaze back to Khaya, fixing her with a look that she can't break away from. "Khaya, we need you to tell us everything you learned in the Capitol about the Quell. It's of the utmost importance to ensure our plan is a success." Vera tells her and Khaya nods her head, more than willing to tell them every detail she memorized and couldn't transmit home out of fear her communications were being monitored. Vera steps towards her then, her gaze relaxing as she runs a hand over Khaya's hair before pulling her into a gentle hug. "But first, get some rest. Spend some time with your family. You've been through so much."

"Thank you, ma'am," Khaya whispers to her before being let go. Vera steps back, gives her a single nod before leaving the room.

Pierre and Rosana give her looks of acknowledgement before following after Vera. Khaya doesn't expect anything else from them since she's never met them before. She finally looks over at Anton Martinez, finding her friend's father refusing to look over at her as he leaves the room.

Her father steps over towards her, putting a hand on her shoulder once more. "We have a few more things to discuss tonight. But we'll just be in the next room over so if you need me, let me know."

"I will," Khaya whispers, not trusting her voice to not crack if she tries to raise it.

He gives her an encouraging smile, still barely keeping it together himself at finally seeing her home. "I love you, Khaya, and I would do anything for you. Don't forget that."

"I won't," Khaya responds and he lets go over her shoulder to follow after the rest of the leaders. Khaya slowly turns around, not quite sure if she's ready to face the other children of the leaders. She shouldn't be afraid, these people are her friends, the others who will someday take over for their parents just like her…but she's not the same person as she was when she left. And Cedar's loss is going to be so obvious among them.

But before she can turn around, her second closest friend in Seven steps towards her. Elin Martinez-Snow hugs her tightly and it takes a few seconds for Khaya to hug them back. "I'm so glad you're alive. I couldn't have lost both of you."

At that, any hope of avoiding tears is gone and she's sobbing in their arms. "Cedar…"

"I know," Elin sniffles as they release Khaya, taking her hand and keeping her close. Khaya holds on tightly, needing the comfort right now. "Let me introduce you to Josefine and Niek Ottlinger, and Rona Arnott."

They politely smile at her and Khaya tries to do the same, but she's all too aware that there's a family missing. She turns back to Elin, knowing she has a promise to keep. "Elin…Cedar made me promise him something."

"What was it?" Elin asks, concern filling their kind face. Khaya has no clue how they've stayed so kind over the years, unable to be turned into their mother yet. "I'll help you. Anything for him."

"He…" Khaya hesitates, unsure how much Elin knows about Cedar's life here. "He said he has a child…? He made me promise to protect him."

"Oh…" Elin's face falls at this and they let out a sigh, pushing their hair back in the nervous gesture they've done since they were a child. "Yeah…about that…"

"What? What's wrong?"

"It's…complicated."

* * *

 **Hi we interrupt your regularly scheduled introductions for some subplot. We will return to your scheduled program next chapter.**

 **So...bet you weren't expecting this chapter lol. Why not take a break in the middle of the intros with this fun little chapter? So what could be the plans? *thinking emoji* Well I hope you enjoyed this fun look at both the President and Khaya in the immediate aftermath of the prison escape! Anyone you want to see more of in future chapters? And are you supporting the Capitol or the rebels?**

 **I've added a bunch of stuff to the blog, including some information about all the people introduced in this chapter and others from the previous chapters! So be sure to check that out!**

 **Alright for real next chapter is going to be the District Seven intros lol. I just wanted to post this chapter to take a break from the intros! So see you hopefully this weekend with Adam and Carameuse!**


	12. District 7: Haunted By The Ghost Of You

**Trigger warning: There is a _lot_ of dysphoria with Adam because of what he is going through. His experience is something that trans men can go through but it may be triggering so please read with caution. If you're concerned, please send me a PM and I can tell you the reason why so you can choose to read his section or not. And regardless of what he's going through, Adam is a man, end of story. I won't tolerate any comments stating otherwise.**

* * *

 **Chapter 8:**

 _Adam Vignola, 18, District Seven_

 _Three Weeks Before The Reaping_

Adam doesn't know how much more he can handle right now.

So much sadness in one place…every crying face Adam sees just makes himself feel worse, on top of the disbelief still going through him. Somehow, despite hearing the news a week ago and seeing the body in the casket, he simply cannot believe that he's gone. It doesn't matter if their relationship ended seven months ago. Adam still loves him and always will. But there is always going to be a hole in his life.

The large funeral party comes to a stop at the forest, ready for the final sendoff for Cedar. He didn't know most of the people here and didn't realize just how many people knew Cedar…but he's not surprised. Cedar was a good person… Adam whimpers as he clutches his stomach as pain shoots through it and he hunches over. His friend Ezzie grabs onto his shoulders, giving him support as she rubs his back, but there's no stopping the pain. Not until he just lets the false contractions just end. "Deep breaths. You'll get through it. I'm here for you."

A minute passes and the contractions start to subside, getting replaced with a sickly feeling in his chest as he stares down at his swollen belly. How is he still handling this? He thought the dysphoria was bad for years before knowing that was what it was. And then to finally figure it all out, finally be comfortable in his identity…for _this_ to happen…

"Just remember how excited you are going to be to see your baby in a month," Ezzie whispers to him as Cedar's father steps forward, carrying the small pot containing dirt mixed with Cedar's ashes and a small cedar tree sapling. It's a beautiful ceremony, having the person give back to the forest and help bring new life with their death…but why did it have to be _Cedar_? But…Ezzie is right. Somehow she knows exactly where his thoughts have gone and have reminded him of the reason why he's going through all the miserable changes to his body that makes him question why he's doing this almost daily as he watches his body change against his will. The changes that have made him deal with more dysphoria and misgendering than Adam ever experienced before even realizing he's trans…

Because Cedar's given more life than just the small sapling that Mr. Martinez is planting now. Adam holds his swollen stomach, saddened at the thought that his child is never going to know his other father. What if they look like Cedar? Or what if they resent that they don't have two parents?

But…a very small selfish part of him that usually isn't there is happy knowing Cedar will still always be part of his life.

Tears are flowing freely down his face now as Anton Martinez turns around to face the crowd and give final words to Cedar. Seeing the pain on his face just makes Adam sob even more, hating to see so many people in sorrow right now. And, well, maybe the pregnancy hormones are making his response worse.

"Cedar…" Anton lets out a shaky sigh as he tries to collect his thoughts. A man who is without a doubt his brother steps forward, putting a comforting hand on Anton's shoulder and silently providing support as four more people step forward to give support to Anton as he tries to speak. "No words can describe the person that Cedar was. He…he was the best son I could have ever asked for. He always put the needs of others above his own, yet he always stood up for what he believed was right…"

Adam grabs on to Ezzie's hand as Mr. Martinez stares down at the ground, trying to find the words to say goodbye to his son. "He died doing what he loved and fighting for what he believed in. His life was taken too soon…but his death was not in vain…"

Adam scrunches his face in confusion as he stares at Cedar's father, but he seems to be one of the few people confused by what his father said. He thought…he thought Cedar died in a logging accident? That was what Carina Martinez had told him when she snuck out against her father's wishes to tell Adam that Cedar was gone… Was the younger girl wrong?

"Goodbye, Cedar…" Anton Martinez says quietly, turning back to look down at the ashes he buried and will provide for a new life. "Your memory will live on and we will keep fighting for what you believed in."

With that, he steps over to the side with his small group, allowing others the chance to step forward and say a final farewell to Cedar Martinez. Adam slowly steps forward, clutching Ezzie's arm and using her as both emotional and physical support, struggling to be on his swollen feet for extended time now. He lingers back, watching as others he doesn't know step forward first, feeling his heart keep breaking as he watches varying levels of sorrow on all of their faces. His heart aches from all the sadness, along with the burning feeling he's had for the last week, thanks to the baby.

"Do you want me to go up with you?" Ezzie whispers to him as they get closer to their turn. He can hear her voice shaking and one glance at her face shows how much she's struggling to keep it all together for his sake.

"I want to do this alone," Adam answers her, knowing he needs to have the closure on his own. His friend has already done so much for him and he can see how much Cedar's death is hurting her too. After all, she's been Adam's friend for years and was there through his entire relationship with Cedar. "Go ahead and say goodbye to him first."

"Okay," Ezzie nods her head and looks like she wants to protest, but instead turns to go kneel in front of Cedar's final resting place.

Adam silently watches her, tears still falling as he clutches his stomach, wishing he could feel a bit of movement right now from his baby and get some comfort from them. Every little nudge is just a reminder that these long months will be so worth it.

All too soon, Ezzie moves and Adam knows it's his turn, yet he struggles to move forward. He doesn't want to do this because saying goodbye is going to truly mean that Cedar is gone. But his feet slowly move forward and Ezzie helps him kneel down before taking a few steps back, giving Adam the space he needs to say goodbye privately.

"Cedar…" Adam starts, letting out a shaky breath as his hand reaches out to touch one of the few leaves on the sapling. He tries to remember exactly how the sapling feels, knowing all too soon it will be too tall for him to touch the leaves. "I know we haven't been together in months…but I still love you. And I'm going to keep loving you, no matter if you're gone."

Adam pauses, wiping away at his tears just for them to be replaced quickly with fresh ones. He puts his hands on his stomach, knowing Cedar is going to keep being with him and it's going to hurt so much. "Every day I'm going to be reminded of you and while it's going to hurt for a while, I know eventually I'm going to enjoy the reminder that you're still part of my life, even though you're gone… And someday I'm going to bring our child here and sit under the shadow of the tree and tell them all about how amazing you were."

Adam leans back, choking out a sob and wiping away at his eyes, struggling to see through the blur of tears. Two people step forward and take his hands, helping him stand up. They lead him away from Cedar's grave and Ezzie rubs his back soothingly. "Th-tha-thank you," Adam barely gets out, trying to look at the other person who helped him. He doesn't recognize the girl standing in front of him, looking worn out and frail, but still concerned for him despite not knowing him at all.

"You're welcome," she says quietly as Adam keeps trying to wipe away the tears he can't seem to stop. "Did you…did you know Cedar well?"

"Yeah…" Adam says and looks down at his swollen stomach, rubbing a hand over it. "We dated for a while…"

The girl follows Adam's gaze to his stomach before her eyes widen and a range of emotions pass over her face, from shock to realization to determination. When she brings her gaze up to Adam's again, the tears are gone from her eyes. "I grew up with him… I hadn't seen him in a couple years because I…moved away for a bit. But I loved him like he was my brother…" She pauses for a second to glance back at the sapling and when she turns back to Adam, her eyes a full of tears again. "I wish I could have known more about him since I've been gone… Maybe after we've grieved we could talk? And maybe after you've had…his child?"

"Yeah, they're his child," Adam sadly answers her, watching her face get a strange look on it that he simply cannot figure out, which only confuses him. He only hopes she isn't going to start questioning him being pregnant or worse, start asking him if he's excited to be a mother. He really wouldn't be able to handle _that_ right now. Not with everything else happening. He quickly continues, hoping to keep the girl from saying anything that will just further upset him, "And I'd like to know more about his childhood… I want to be able to tell our child all about Cedar someday."

The girl smiles at this and nods her head before taking a step back. "I will gladly do that. But I should get back to his family…"

"Wait, I never got your name," Adam says quickly as she starts to turn around.

She pauses and steps back over to him, hesitating for a moment before holding out her hand to him. "Khaya… Khaya Christian."

"Adam," he tells her as he shakes her hand. "And…I'll see you soon?"

"Yeah," Khaya gives him a faint smile before turning back around to return to the Martinez family.

Adam watches her, feeling a bit of relief in his chest that he'll have someone with him to help teach his child all about Cedar. Ezzie rubs his shoulder and he turns towards his friend, finding her smiling gently at him. "She seems nice… But if you're ready, let's get you home. It's not good to be on your feet for so long."

* * *

Adam leans back against the juniper tree in his backyard, always going to this spot as a child when he needed time to think. He just needs to find some peace to come to terms with Cedar's death. Now that he's said goodbye, he knows he needs to move forward and focus on the upcoming birth. Yet it's hard to do when just thinking about his child is a constant reminder of Cedar and at this point, it's so hard constantly feeling like his body isn't his own anymore after just figuring out _why_ he was feeling the way he was. But…he supposes it's true that his body isn't completely his own right now. Not with a child in it.

Adam lets out a loud sigh and shuts his eyes, taking deep breaths and trying to just focus on the sounds of nature surrounding him in the small garden he's kept up over the years but has struggled to maintain in recent months. But the sounds of nature are soon disrupted by the sounds of gentle footsteps approaching and Adam knows who it is before he even opens his eyes. As his mother approaches, she smiles down at him as she gets closer, holding two mugs of tea. "Hi sweetie," she says softly as she hands one mug to Adam before carefully sitting down next to him, putting an arm around his shoulders. He leans his head on her shoulder, finding comfort in being in her arms just like he always did as a child. "How are you hanging in there?"

Adam takes his time to figure out his response, trying to really get an idea of the mess of emotions going through him. Exhausted from months of pregnancy? Tired of waking up daily and feeling out of place in his own body? Questioning why he is doing this? Feeling happy at the thought of creating life? Wishing his child would grow up with two parents? Full of sadness at the loss of the person he loves? "I really don't know," Adam finally responds to her before taking a long sip of his tea. He stares out some more at the garden in front of them, watching as a bird lands on the small bird feeder he built with Cedar and smiling a bit at the memories.

His mother rubs his head at this and he lets out a relaxed sigh. He hadn't realized just how much he just needed some comfort from his mom. "That's okay… You're going through a lot right now. It's understandable to not know what you're feeling."

They go back to sitting in a comfortable silence and Adam clutches his tea with both hands, balancing the warm mug on his stomach. The sight almost makes him start chuckling a little to himself, "At least I can use my stomach to balance food and drinks on it."

His mother laughs at this and Adam turns to look at her, finding so much of his appearance resembling hers, which makes him start wondering if his child will be the same way, looking similar to him. He almost hopes not. He'd rather they look like Cedar. "I'll be sure to tell my grandbaby someday how you used them as a plate holder. I'm sure they'll love that."

Adam laughs a little, turning his gaze down to his stomach and trying to avoid seeing the unpleasant change in his body and rather the child it holds. "I'm sure baby Cain is going to love you."

"I'm sure they will," his mother says softly, looking down at Adam's stomach will a look already full of love. "Are you still thinking they'll be a boy? I'm hoping for a granddaughter."

"I know you are," Adam responds as he smiles up at his mother. "But who knows? You certainly didn't know I was a boy when I was born."

His mother chuckles at this, making Adam grin a bit. "That is true… We'll I'm going to love them regardless and make sure they have a great life."

"So am I…" Adam says quietly before letting out a sigh of concern. "I just want to be a good parent…but I don't know how I'm going to do this on my own."

"But you're not on your own," his mother frowns at this and shakes her head at him. "Your father and I are going to help you out however we can. We're going to keep this child safe, especially given everything happening in the District lately…"

Adam looks up at her in concern at this, hating all the bad news lately about attacks and deaths happening in the District as unrest has been growing. So much life just thrown away, and for what reason? "They'll be safe…" He says quietly, knowing he will do whatever to protect his little baby. "I won't let them be harmed."

"I know you will, but I don't want you being hurt either," his mother shakes her head at this, growing upset as she takes a sip of her tea, her hands shaking. "I just heard this morning about some girl that got attacked and killed in an alleyway last night. They haven't found the killer and it's just terrible… I'm worried about your child growing up with all of this going on."

"Mom, you worry too much," Adam tells her, but part of him is just as concerned as she is. It's terrible what happened to that girl and he hates hearing about so much violence and death. He doesn't want to be worried about his child being hurt every time they go to play with a friend. He doesn't want to live in fear that they'll be a victim of some unnecessary crime. And he doesn't want to be in fear that they'll be someday sent into the Hunger Games… But these are all things out of his control. All he can do right now is make sure he raises them well, just like his parents did for him.

"Sorry, it's your job as a parent to be worried," his mother laughs a little at this, but Adam can tell she's still concerned for him. "You'll see that soon enough."

"It's not soon enough," Adam responds quietly, turning to stare out at the garden again so his mom can't see in his eyes just how ready he is to have this pregnancy over with, yet he's so afraid of actually giving birth… "All these symptoms are so unpleasant and it's just worse with all the dysphoria that I didn't know would happen…"

"Soon, sweetie," she says as she rubs his shoulder, clearly not knowing how to help him with what he's going through. And Adam can't blame her for that, there's no way she would understand without being trans herself. "Just keep reminding yourself that the baby is going to be so worth it in the end."

Before Adam can help it, he feels his eyes prickling with tears at the thought of the baby. "Even without Cedar here?"

"Oh, sweetie, come here," his mother says quickly before setting down her mug and hugging Adam as tightly as she can with his belly getting in the way. She rubs his back as he starts sobbing onto her shoulder, unable to help himself as the heartache suddenly hits him. "You're going to be a great parent. I know Cedar is going to be looking out for you and your baby, keeping you both safe. And I know that someday you're going to find someone who is going to love you for exactly who you are and he'll help you raise the child."

Adam knows she's commenting on the reason Cedar broke up with him, but he can't be mad at the reason. He's long since come to terms with Cedar not being able to love him as Adam, just like Adam wouldn't be able to love a girl. It certainly hurt then and still stings a little, but at least Cedar hadn't completely cut him out of his life. He knows Cedar would have helped with the child, especially after seeing them. But now… "I can't do this alone."

"You're not alone," his mother whispers to him, still trying to sooth him as he cries, just like she always did when Adam was a child. "You have me and your father and your younger siblings are going to be so excited to have someone else to play with. And you have Ezzie and your new friend Axe and I know they'll help you out too." She pulls back enough to grab onto the sides of Adam's face gently, staring at him with tears threatening to fall herself. "You're never alone, okay? Not when you have your family."

"I know," Adam sniffles, trying to believe it himself. He shakes his head and lets out a small laugh as he tries to wipe away his tears. "I'm crying so much from all these damn hormones." His mother raises her eyebrows at him swearing and Adam simply shrugs at it, knowing he doesn't normally swear but he thinks he's allowed to given everything happening in his life lately. "But thank you…"

His mother smiles at him and kisses his forehead, making Adam smile softly from the small gesture of love from her. He doesn't know how anyone wouldn't still like getting love from their parents like this, no matter their age. "Of course. I'm always here to help. I don't like seeing you upset, especially right now. I just wish there was more I could do."

"Mom, you already do plenty for me," Adam answers her, loving the happy smile that forms on her face from this. "I don't know what I would do without you."

* * *

 _Carameuse Juniper, 17_

 _One Week Before The Reaping_

"Carameuse, honey, are you almost ready?"

She jumps at the voice at the bedroom door, taking a moment to compose herself as she looks in the mirror, rehearsing all the things she might say tonight. _'Oh Mrs. Callagan, you look lovely tonight. And Mr. Callagan, the food is delicious! How is your son doing?'_ She read over and over and over again the diary she keeps, trying to memorize everything about the guests Marnie Juniper invited over tonight for dinner, all at her husband's request to secure more financial backers. She's been dreading this night for days now, ever since Marnie told her that she would have to join them for dinner. It was so nice the days when she was allowed to stay in her room, hidden away and avoiding Marnie and Keelan. Not that they took much notice to her. She knows from last time the Callagans visited that the Junipers had Carameuse there to show off how much of a 'perfect family' they are. At least, according to the diary.

"Carameuse?" Marnie calls from behind the door, this time knocking on it a bit. She worries about the tone in Marnie's voice and flips back in the diary to a different page recalling a time when Marnie got angry at Carameuse. She certainly doesn't want that to happen tonight.

"Just a second," she calls over to her, hoping it will keep her from entering the room. She adjusts the hat on her head, hoping Marnie won't question the fancy hat. She needs it to cover up her eyes and the blonde roots just starting to poke through. She really doesn't want to go face the people downstairs, but she really doesn't have a choice. She brought this on herself.

With one final look in the mirror, she smooths out her dress and grabs the diary from the desk. Her finger runs over the frayed edge on one side of the cloth book cover, knowing just how valuable this tiny book is. She refuses to let it out of her sight, so she tucks it away into one of the small clutches in her room to bring downstairs with her.

She takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down from the terrifying thought of being around people she doesn't know, but reminds herself that she just has to keep pretending. She doesn't mind pretending to be someone she's not, hiding away her emotions and staying a cheerful young woman. She can do this.

With that, she goes over to the bedroom door, rehearsing in her head what she'll say. When she opens the door, Marnie takes in her appearance, making her cast her eyes down at the ground nervously. "Very nice, dear," Marnie says after a few long seconds and she briefly glances up, just to turn her gaze back down right away. Marnie grabs her arm gently and starts leading her downstairs. "Come on, dear, your father is entertaining the Callagans right now and we don't want to keep them waiting. And they brought their son with them, he's real cute and you should try talking to him. Perhaps they'll be more inclined to be a stockholder with your father if their son is interested in you."

She stops walking at this, getting extremely anxious about talking to the boy. She doesn't know what he's like at all and hasn't rehearsed at all what to say to him. All she knows is the brief mentions from last time when the Calligans visited. Her fingers twitch towards her clutch, wanting to run back to her room to search through the diary to find some mention of the boy, or at least any idea how she should act towards him. But she can't. She has to go to the dinner and keep up the act. It's all part of the task she was given.

Marnie comes to a stop at her stopping, looking back at her in confusion. "What's wrong? Oh come on, dear, you'll be fine talking to him. Do it for your father."

She nods her head at this, hoping to convince her that she'll try. And she will, but she'll just be very nervous about it the whole time. Just…why must she have to participate tonight? She doesn't want to get noticed by anyone. She just wants to get back upstairs and figure out what she's going to do about her situation.

"Good girl," Marnie pats her on the shoulder before leading her once more towards the sitting room. As they get closer, she can hear voices talking and it makes her want to stop walking and run back upstairs, but Marnie keeps a tight grip on her arm.

It's just another task. If she can just keep reminding herself that it's just another task, another situation for her to act in, well, maybe she can get through this. She just needs to keep acting. Just for a couple hours and then she can go back up to her room and hide from everyone. She just has to act for a little bit.

She holds the clutch in front of her stomach in a nervous protective gesture as they enter the room and she forces herself to smile and be the cheery person Carameuse has described in the diary. Marnie clears her throat and the conversations stop, bringing the attention of four people over to her. It's way too many people looking at her and she turns her gaze down, hoping they won't stare too closely at her. "Janine and Terran, you met our daughter before. But Joseph, this is Carameuse."

She nervously looks up, knowing Marnie wants her to be nice to him, and smiles at him. She almost falters a bit when she realizes Marnie wasn't lying about him being cute, especially when he gives her a large smile in return. "Hello," she says softly and Marnie brings her into the room, giving her a not-so-subtle push towards Joseph.

She hesitates for a couple seconds, but a look from Marnie has her keep walking over towards Joseph, not wanting Marnie to stare at her for too long. _Just keep acting, don't let him see yourself and you won't get hurt._

"Hello there," Joseph says to her and she tries to keep being cheery towards him, fighting against the intense desire to just run out of the house and away from all of this. It's all her fault she has to be here. He takes her left hand and hesitates for a moment as he stares down at it and the mole on it that she's always said looks like a pumpkin, a mark she's never seen on anyone else before, before kissing the back of it. When he lets go of her hand, he takes a step closer to her and drops his voice to a quiet whisper, "They've been looking for you."

Her heart starts racing at this as panic slowly builds up in her, not knowing just _who_ has been looking for her. She doesn't know if she wants to know, in case it's not the people she's hoping for. And how does Joseph even know? She has to figure out if he's truly on her side or not, because if he isn't, she's about to be in big trouble. "Do you like looking at the stars just after dusk?"

To anyone else, the question would be odd and out of place, especially for her to ask someone she just met. But understanding passes over Joseph's face, and she knows he understood the secret question. "I prefer just before dawn."

She lets out a loud sigh of relief at his answer, knowing that he's on her side. What a stroke of luck that the person she's forced to talk to tonight is also fighting for the cause. "Have you seen the paintings in the foyer?" She asks loudly, to let Marnie and Keelan know where they're going.

Joseph catches on quickly to what she's doing and answers at a similar volume, "No, but I would love it if you showed me them."

She leads him out of the room, catching an approving look from Marnie. But she's focused on getting out of earshot from them. Once a safe distance away, she glances back at the room they left before quickly whispering to Joseph. "I'm on a mission and can't leave here. Can you get a message to someone higher up?"

"I can try my best, but my parents keep a close eye on me," Joseph looks back over his shoulder and when he turns back, his face is full of concern that they'll come looking for him now. "But what's going on? They had to cover up a missing body-"

"Shh, don't talk about that!" She answers in a whisper, her voice raising in pitch. She shuts her eyes tightly, trying to block out the images, but they still push into her mind of the girl that attacked her, all because she bumped into her and thought she was mugging her. She didn't mean to kill her. God, that's the last thing she would ever dream of doing. She just pushed her into the wall! She was just desperately trying to get away from the person chasing her.

"Hey, they're not mad at you," Joseph says gently, putting a hand on her arm and making her jump in surprise. She opens her eyes quickly, finding him staring at her intently and full of concern. She quickly looks away, uncomfortable by how intense his gaze is. "They just want to know what happened on the mission and put out a notice to watch for you."

"I'm trying," she says quietly, turning to stare at one of the pictures hanging on the wall instead of Joseph. Even though he's on the same side as her, she still is uncomfortable by his intense stare and talking to him. "Tell them I'm safe and have the item. I'll finish the task soon."

"Of course," he says quietly as footsteps start to approach them. He turns as well to stare at the picture she's staring at, but leans towards her to whisper before the others round the corner, "I'll tell your secret to the others, Carameuse."

* * *

 _Day Of The Reaping_

She has been dreading this day for weeks now. Every kid always dreads the Reaping, but she is almost certain that today is going to be the day that she's finally caught. What if the group didn't actually hide the body? What if someone knows about her? What's going to happen as she goes through the check in? They might arrest her right then and there. And what if her name is called?

She can only hope that Joseph kept his word and got the message to the others that she's safe and still on the mission.

"Good luck, Carameuse," Marnie says with a quick kiss on her cheek, leaving her to wait in the line for the check in. She gives Marnie a brief smile before turning away, pulling the hat down over her head to make sure it doesn't blow away. The last thing she needs is for that to happen and show everyone her blonde roots she hasn't been able to get dyed back to brown.

"Thanks," she says nervously as Marnie walks away, not looking too bothered by her daughter being in line for the Reaping. And why would Marnie be concerned? Carameuse has never needed to take out tesserae and Marnie really hasn't been involved too much in her life.

She's glad to have the hat on her head, blocking the sun from hitting her eyes as she waits in the line that's quickly growing in length. She almost considers moving to the back of it, anything to push back having to go through the check in and get her finger pricked by the needle. She is absolutely dreading it. But she can't do that. That will only make her look suspicious. And she's always been told to avoid suspicion at all costs when on missions.

Right. Just focus on the job. Perhaps after the Reaping in the chaos of everyone leaving, she can slip away from the crowd and finish what she was assigned to do. She doesn't want to keep living in fear of getting caught.

The line keeps slowly inching forward, too slow, but also too fast. She wants to be done with this, yet the thought of entering the Reaping area is enough to make her want to run away if she wouldn't get shot down by Peacekeepers. She fidgets with the diary in her hands, avoiding eye contact with the others around her, some talking to their friends as they wait in line, while others stay somber. Unable to take the anxious silence any longer, she flips through the diary back to last year's Reaping, trying to distract herself from this year's.

" _I so dislike having to go through the check in for the Reapings – needles are so terrifying! But, another year safe from going into the Hunger Games! Although it was so sad to see a twelve year old get picked…and a criminal volunteered! Wow. That girl that was picked sure got lucky to have a volunteer. I hope if the worst happens and I was picked there would be someone ready to step forward and take my place. I don't even know how I would react…probably very nervously walk up but definitely try to smile. Never too early to start thinking about sponsors. But God willing that won't ever happen. Well, only two more years to go!"_

"Next!"

She glances up from the diary, afraid for when that voice will be calling next for her. She's getting too close now, only five more people separating her from possibly getting arrested. She snaps the diary shut, holding it tightly against her chest as she tries to control her breathing. She can't stop the feeling that the Peacekeepers are all staring over at her behind the cold dark masks that they wear, all accusing her. But how could they possibly know what she's done? She only told Joseph and she barely told him the whole story. He wouldn't tell though, since he's on her side. He knew the phrase to communicate that they're on the same side. Unless…unless he's a double agent? Oh stupid, so stupid, how did she just trust him so blindly? She might have just blown everything!

"Next!"

She lets out a squeak of nervousness as she realizes the Peacekeepers are talking to her. Her feet freeze to the ground and she can't bring herself to step forward. She can't, they're going to find out and she's going to get arrested or killed and-

One of the Peacekeepers steps forward and grabs her arm, bringing her towards the Peacekeeper taking the blood samples. "Hand, please," he says to her, holding out his own hand. He stares up at her behind the blank mask, yet she can't move, her hands gripping the diary in front of her chest so tightly her knuckles must be turning white. "Give me your hand. I won't ask again."

Just give him her hand…she rehearsed this earlier. Surely she can do this… She slowly uncurls her left hand from the diary and reaches towards him, her hand shaking immensely from her nerves. "The needle won't hurt that bad," he says with a laugh as he takes her hand, clearly trying to get her to stop being so nervous. But it doesn't help. Not when she is about to get her hand pricked and a blood sample taken.

With a sudden pinch, the device pricks her finger and her blood is taken, ready to be identified. The Peacekeeper stares down at her hand for a few seconds as the device registers her. As she waits, her breathing quickens and her heart races, so loudly that everyone around her surely must be able to hear it. But this is it. It's game over for her. Surely she won't be able to keep this up any longer.

The device beeps, signaling it has finished registration, and she tries to keep acting cheery, but knows her smile must look more like a grimace than an actual smile right now. The Peacekeeper looks at the device for a few long, drawn out seconds, before turning his gaze back up to her. "What's your name?"

She stares down at him, not trusting her voice to actually form words right now with how anxious she is. "C-C-Carameuse J-Junip-per," she squeaks out, barely even convincing herself that that's her name. Her nervousness is clear as the sunny day they're having in her voice and she can only hope the Peacekeeper assumes it from her being nervous about the actual Reaping.

The seconds keep ticking by and it feels as if she's been standing there for minutes, but in reality, it's probably been under a minute. She can feel herself starting to sweat in her anxiety, waiting for the verdict. "Go ahead, Carameuse."

She stares down at the Peacekeeper in surprise for a few seconds, but his gaze has turned back down to the device and he does something on it for a few seconds. He glances back up and motions her along before looking at the line behind her, "Next!"

She nervously smiles at one of the other Peacekeepers standing nearby as another kid steps up to be registered. She isn't going to wait around to be told that it was all a sick joke, even though she worries it's only a matter of time until that happens. She knew the risks of getting involved and now she's starting to wonder if she should have never gotten involved. She never should have thought it was fun to search through the things her mother told her not to look through. She never should have become a courier, passing along secret messages around the District.

And yet…as she slowly starts walking down the aisle separating he sections, trying not to look suspicious by walking too fast, she slowly starts to relax a little when she doesn't hear any footsteps following after her. She passes the twelve year olds, then the thirteens, and no one is yelling at her to stop. She reaches the fourteen year old section and nervously glances back, yet finds no one following after her. She turns back around and picks up her pace, wanting to blend into the crowd of seventeen year olds and hide among them. She'll find anonymity among the others her age, all looking nervous as they wait for the Reaping to get started.

She reaches the section and finds her way into the center, even though it's the spot she least wants to stand in. She'd prefer being at the edge, away from as many people as possible. But she could be recognized there and she doesn't want that.

She finds a spot to stand behind a couple girls talking quietly, trying to pass the time before the Reaping starts. She waits a few minutes, still clutching the diary to her chest as she keeps expecting someone to come take her away. But as the minutes keep passing, she starts to slowly relax. Maybe she was able to pull off the act…maybe they truly believe her.

When it's time to start and the mayor steps on stage to give her speech, she lets out a sigh of relief as she runs her hand over the seam of the diary with one loose thread, knowing she's safe. Her secret is safe.

* * *

 _Bella Lavish, Escort for District Seven_

Bella could tell right away that something was up in District Seven, but she knew better than to speak up and question it. From the moment she boarded the train to travel out here, she was surrounded by more Peacekeepers than ever before. She doesn't know why she needs the extra protection, but she isn't complaining about it considering how tense the District mood feels today. Even the victors seemed uneasy, more so than usual on Reaping Day. Bella _had_ been looking forward to getting back to Seven, but it is not turning out the way she anticipated.

In fact, being back in Seven is surprisingly sad for her, and she knows it's from Oakland's death last year… Damn, that little boy really made an impact on her. The worst part is seeing his friend still alive, knowing that it could have been Oakland instead. But each year one tribute from Seven keeps getting closer and closer to winning. Maybe this is going to be the year one of them finally comes in first place.

"Good afternoon, District Seven," Bella says pleasantly, trying to avoid being overly cheerful as she sees the glares among some of the older children closest to the stage. It catches her off guard, having been greeted in the past by some waves and smiles. _What's happened in one year here?_ "I'm Bella Lavish, back once more and determined to have this year be the year we get another victor! We were so close last year!"

She hopes the crowd will give some sort of acknowledgement at this, but she just gets unhappy grumbles from people as they're reminded of the fact that their tributes last year got last and fifth place. "Very well," she says quickly as she glances off to the side at the mayor and is motioned to move things along. "Let's just see who will be our tributes this year!"

In the silence of the crowd, her tall golden heels ring out loudly over them as she heads to the first sphere full of names. Normally she would have taken her time, hoping to pick an older tribute who has seen her days in the forest and has a fighting chance. But not today. Not when she's worried anything she says might get her into trouble. So she picks a piece of paper from the top and walks as quickly as she can in her heels, which is surprisingly fast, back to the microphone. "Alright first up is…" Bella stares down at the name, having no clue how she's supposed to pronounce it. "Caramuse? Caramoose? Oh I don't know how to say it, but first name C-A-R-A-M-E-U-S-E, last name Juniper."

Bella stares out into the crowd, waiting to see who will step forward. The seconds start to pass and Bella begins to worry about the girl, knowing she has to do her best right now to make a good first impression. "Carameuse? It's alright, just come on up."

Finally, there's movement in one of the closer sections as someone makes their way out from the very center. Once in the aisle, she nervously looks around at everyone, clutching a small book to her chest. She keeps her head down, her large brimmed hat blocking her face from the view of everyone in Seven and the cameras. But as she gets to the stairs up to the stage, she picks up her head and tries to give Bella a cheery smile, but it's obviously forced. But Bella will take it, at least the girl is trying to keep it all together.

"Hello dear," Bella says once the girl reaches the stage, placing a hand on her shoulder and trying to comfort her. Now that she's up close, she can see all the panic in her eyes. "Let's see if anyone will take your place," she says softly to Carameuse, getting a small nod of her head before Bella turns back to the crowd and speaks louder. "Are there any volunteers?"

Much to Bella's disappointment – well, maybe it's best to not have any criminal volunteers again given what happened last year – no one steps forward to volunteer for Carameuse. She gives her shoulder a couple pats, trying to comfort her when she takes in a sharp intake of breath at the realization that she's really going into the Games. "Well, we can't have volunteers every year! How about we see who is joining Carameuse?"

Bella once again quickly makes her way to pick the other name, aware of the growing tension among the crowd in front of her that's making her nervous. Forget making the Reaping interesting, she just wants to get out of here without any drama.

So she quickly dips her name into the other glass sphere and picks one of the first names her hands brush up against. Her steps are once again too loud in the silence, but at least there aren't any sobs right now from Carameuse. But it almost looks like she's in shock right now. "Okay our second tribute is…" Bella lets out a small sigh of relief when she sees a name she can actually pronounce. "Adam Vignola."

Bella waits a few seconds until someone starts moving in the oldest section, getting her hopes up that she'll have a strong tribute this year. But as soon as the person steps out from the section, Bella's jaw drops open in shock and she has to close it as murmurs start traveling around the crowd.

 _Holy shit…they're pregnant._ And not just a tiny bit pregnant, like about to pop pregnant… _What has she done?_

Adam is clearly struggling to hold it all together as they slowly make their way up to the stage, hands protectively wrapped around their stomach. At that, Bella quickly runs down the stairs, nearly tripping down in her high heels, so she can help them up to the stage. As she puts an arm around them, that's when the tears start pouring out and Adam gasps loudly before they start sobbing. Bella has to support most of their weight up the stairs and halfway up, she's met by Laurel to help get Adam up to the stage. They share an uncomfortable look, clearly both bothered by the fact that Bella just picked a very pregnant tribute.

Once back in the center of the stage, Bella keeps her hand in Adam's, feeling incredibly guilty for picking them, especially as they start gasping in pain and lean over, clutching their stomach. "Oh my God, please tell me you're not going into labor! I'm so sorry!" She squeaks out, only able to watch in horror at what she's done. Laurel keeps holding on to them and the victor rubs their back before leaning down to whisper to them.

"Are there any volunteers for Adam?" Bella pleads at the crowd, really hoping that someone will care enough for them that they volunteer. But despite the crowd's displeasure at Adam being reaped, no one steps forward to take their place. "Really?" Bella asks them, in disbelief that no one is going to show some empathy. "Fine," Bella says harshly as she turns back to Adam, angry at herself and the crowd. She tries to rub their back as they try to straighten up, tears still pouring down their face. "I'm going to do everything I can to help you. I promise." Bella looks over at Carameuse, the girl watching the whole thing with a look of horror. "Both of you."

Bella looks out at the crowd, finding herself disappointed for the first time with the District. She thought she loved them and wanted to see them do well. But they've showed an ugly side to them today and Bella doesn't want to be part of that. "And I'm getting one of you home as victor."

* * *

 **Alrighty we have District Seven! Big thanks to goldie031, TheAmazingJAJ, and District5Chemist for Adam, Carameuse, and Bella respectively! I had a ton of fun with this chapter and this chapter just happened very quickly once I sat down to write it!**

 **Okay, I'm only going to say this now and this time only. I am not going to tolerate ANY transphobic comments about Adam. I did my research, I read articles and watched videos from men in similar situations. What he's going through is something that trans men go through. It is who he is that he would keep the child as their life is more valuable to him than the dysphoria he's going through. Regardless of what is happening to him, _he is a man._ _End of story, no questions about it._ If you're going to post a review that is even the slightest hint of being transphobic, don't post it. PM the comments to me instead. I simply won't tolerate any hint of transphobia on my story.**

 _ ***mic drop***_

 **Anyways, now that that's been said, let's talk about this chapter! Thoughts on Adam and Carameuse? How are people going to react to Adam being pregnant? What is going on with Carameuse? And is this the second subplot chapter in a row? I think yes lol.**

 **Alright, next up we're heading to District Eight! And s** **ince I won't be posting that in the next three days, Merry Christmas to everyone that celebrates and Happy Holidays to everyone! I hope you all have lovely time with your family and friends!**


	13. District 8: Fate

**Chapter 9:**

 _District Eight_

 _Fete Bayard, 18_

 _Two and a Half Years Before The Reaping_

Fete could think of a hundred other places he would rather be right now, the top choice being back at home with his two cats. He hasn't left them for this long yet since he adopted them…are they okay without him? Is Bobby warm enough with just the sweater he made for him? Maybe someone will let him use the excuse of going home to check on his cats to leave early.

Fete sighs heavily at this, knowing no one will ever take that excuse. Not that he really _has_ to answer to anyone. Well…the bride might get pissed off if the owner of Bayard Wedding Co. leaves early. Not that he should be the owner…

He fights back a yawn as he leans against the wall, trying not to shut his eyes and nap right now. He hated attending weddings already but it's worse now without his mother here…

"You hanging in there, kid?"

Fete lets out a non-committal grunt as he opens up his eyes fully to look over at Florian Conroy walking over to him. If anyone else had called him kid, he would have ignored them. But not Florian. Not after everything he's done to keep Fete from getting shipped off to the Community Center or something after his mother's death. But Florian didn't even stop at that. Honestly, Fete never would have been able to keep living out his mother's legacy without Florian helping out immensely with the business.

"Probably a dumb question," Florian chuckles as he leans against the wall next to Fete, examining the entire room and the wedding they planned from top to bottom. It's smaller than anything his mother ever made, but Fete doesn't care. If anyone has a problem with him downgrading after his mother's death, they can just suck it. It's too much effort to put up with anyone that wants to micromanage _his_ business for him. "It turned out great, you know."

Fete grunts at this, knowing very well that even at just 15, he's planned a better wedding than some of the people in the Capitol. "I used a lot of designs from her."

"But she didn't tell you how to organize everything or manage people," Florian continues, for some unknown reason praising Fete's work. "And she didn't make the bridal gown."

Fete looks over at the bride, knowing her dress is the best damn thing he's ever made so far in his life. Well, maybe second to the costumes for his cats. "Nope," he responds, again fighting the urge to shut his eyes and just take a short nap. Just a few minutes wouldn't hurt, right?

Florian is quiet for a few minutes, the man just observing the wedding with Fete as the guests eat their food. It's too many people for Fete but at least most of them have just left him alone. There's only so much he can keep up being fake and happy to people. "She would be proud of you." Fete turns towards Florian, staring at him with a blank face and he's met with concern from the second in charge of the business. "I worked with her for years and I know she would be so proud to see her son taking over after her early death…"

Fete's lips twitch up just a little bit at getting called son, but quickly turn back into a neutral look as he tries not to show any of the deep sadness in him still from his mother's death. He threw himself into the work she left behind, hoping that the constant work would help him block out the pain. Yet it's still there and today is the worst it's been in months. Everything about the venue just reminds him of her. The actual wedding was always her favorite part of the business when she got to see everything come together and she could celebrate with her clients. But she celebrated a little too much and now she's gone, and the wedding is now Fete's least favorite part of taking over her business. Which isn't saying much considering how much he disliked it before, but at least he got to spend it with her.

"Fete, can you promise me something?" Florian asks suddenly and Fete looks up at him, just giving a small grunt of acknowledgement for him to continue. "Get some rest after this. I mean this in the best way but you look exhausted and I don't want the same thing happening to you that happened to her."

Fete shrugs at this, not quite giving a response to Florian. He respects the man too much to flat out lie to him. He'll nap when he can when he gets home but he isn't going to tell Florian that he's already on the same path as his mother. He tried not to but when the only thing to get him to actually sleep at night without waking up from nightmares of losing her all over again was a full glass of straight scotch, well…he'll take the solid few hours of sleep. Who's going to stop him? Florian can try but he's not his parent. And Atropa sure isn't going to stop him. No, if anything, his best friend is just going to keep enabling him and if that's not true friendship, he doesn't know what is. Not that he has had many friendships as examples, but still, he wouldn't trade her for the world. Now if only she would have been able to go to the wedding tonight.

"Fete," Florian says, tone showing he knows that Fete isn't going to listen to him at all. "As your kind of guardian right now, I'm telling you to take a couple days off."

"And as your boss, I'm saying I'll consider it, but no," Fete answers before falling quiet again, a bit surprised at snapping a bit at Florian. And by his COO's face, he can tell Florian is just as surprised. "Sorry," Fete mumbles, crossing his arms as he looks away from him, feeling just a bit bad for snapping at him.

"It's okay…" Florian says quietly, his tone kind even though Fete doesn't deserve it. "You've been under a lot of stress lately. I'm just worried about you, okay?"

"Okay," Fete grumbles, not used to someone other than his mother caring so much about him. The sound of someone tapping on glass saves him from having to keep putting energy into talking and everyone quiets down to look over at the married couple for their speech. The speeches are always way too emotional for him to put up with so he takes the time to get a small nap in right now. Who's going to notice if he's dozing off? No one, they're all going to be paying attention to the couple.

He shuts his eyes but he's nudged by Florian after a few seconds as someone walks by, passing out champagne flutes to all of them. Fete snatches one up before Florian can say otherwise, and just gives the man a look telling him to not even question it at all. Fete goes back to shutting his eyes, knowing he'll fall asleep right away and trusting himself not to spill the glass.

"-Mr. Bayard."

Fete jolts awake at his name and blinks rapidly to get the sleepiness out of his eyes. He looks around for who said his name and finds the whole gathered crowd looking over at him, and he puts on the fakest smile he has as he sees the bride looking over too. From the smile on her face, it at least seems like she didn't catch him napping. That would have been bad for business.

"I want to give a special thank you to Mr. Bayard," the bride says and Fete stands up a bit at this, not getting called Mr. Bayard often enough, but damn it, he loves it and he's going to start having all his clients call him that now. Who cares if he's years younger than them? "This beautiful wedding would not have been put together without him and everyone else at Bayard Wedding Co.. And I can't thank you enough for still organizing the wedding after everything you've gone through recently. You've done a phenomenal job and I don't think anyone can deny that. So thank you and you deserve a big round of applause for what you've done."

The wedding guests all start clapping for him and Fete kind of wishes he could just melt into the wall and avoid all of their stares. He still keeps up the fake ass smile and holds up the champagne flute towards the bride, acknowledging her praise. He won't deny it, the praise for the work he's done is much needed right now after questioning daily if it's even worth it to keep going with his mother's business. Going into the wedding tonight, he still wasn't sure if he would continue beyond the few weddings that were booked before her death. But like, if people want to keep flattering him for it, he won't stop them. Who would ever complain about some flattery? Once the applause dies down, she resumes her speech and Fete only half listens, still contemplating what she said about him. It's nice to know that he's doing something right and not just a failure to his mother's legacy.

When they finally toast, Fete tips the glass back, drinking it all quickly before he hands the glass over to a concerned looking Florian. "I'm leaving and if anyone asks, just say I had some last minute work to do."

"Are you going to be alright?" Florian asks him, still looking at him with growing concern.

"Yeah," Fete mumbles and gives as much of a shrug as he can muster the energy for. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"For what?" Florian calls out to him as Fete starts to walk away, dragging his feet on the ground to avoid wasting energy picking them up.

Fete just turns back to him, knowing he has to keep going with his mother's legacy. It's the only thing he knows how to do and he does it well. He'll put up with the few nights a year of being fake at weddings and start dragging Atropa along with him to liven them up. "Work."

* * *

 _Atropa Seigal, 17_

 _Eight Months Before The Reaping_

"Atropa!"

She doesn't even glance up from her latest book as she keeps pedaling on the stationary bike. Both are her attempts to stay prepared for whatever the world might be throwing at her. The books are a welcome reprieve from the mundane life of Eight. And, well, the biking is more so she wouldn't die first from being incapable of running if she ever got chased by a serial killer or something. But then again, getting caught and stabbed might just be her fate.

But apparently whatever life is throwing her way with fate today is her angry mother.

Atropa can hear footsteps approaching her as she keeps on reading _Dracula_ , her legs slowing as she gets absorbed into the book. "Atropa, what the hell are you doing?"

Atropa waits until she finishes the page of her book before slowly bringing her eyes up to look over at her mother standing halfway down the stairs into the basement, hands on her hips and looking unhappy with Atropa like usual. She holds up the book to her mother and keeps cycling away before getting back to reading. "I think it's rather obvious what I'm doing."

Tulle Seigal sighs loudly as she finishes walking down the stairs and closer to her eldest daughter, unaware that Atropa isn't paying attention anymore, already back in her book. "Atropa, you cannot sit down here and just waste away your life reading."

"I'm not just sitting," Atropa gestures down at the bike, only making her mother sigh once more before suddenly snatching the book out of Atropa's hands. "Hey!" she yells as she tries to grab it back, only managing to get her foot caught on the stationary bike and send her toppling to the ground, bringing the bike with her. As she sits up, Atropa rubs her elbow and stares up at her mother smugly holding her book. "You're going to regret talking the book."

Tulle simply rolls her eyes, never one to put up with her cryptic daughter. "Yeah, yeah, some bad fate is going to come to me for taking away your book. What will it be this week? I trip on the sidewalk? Get the stomach flu and start uncontrollably vomiting?"

Atropa stands up, brushing off her pants before picking up the bike, taking her time to come up with her response so she can analyze what might happen for her mother taking her book. "A fractured marriage," she answers ominously, knowing her father will take her side in this situation since he gave her the novel.

But Tulle just laughs without humor as she takes Atropa's elbow and starts leading her over to the stairs. "You're not as observant as you think if you can't see that any marriage is exhausting to deal with after this many years. Now come on, we have to get this order done today."

Atropa pulls her elbow free but follows after her mother, accepting this is her fate today. "Can I at least have my book back? It was a gift to me, not you."

"Not until the order is out," Tulle responds without looking back at her as they reach the ground floor that acts as their family shop, with the two floors above being their living space.

"Look what the cat dragged up," her father jokes as Atropa is led into the work station and her mother points her over to the empty boxes that need to get packaged up with the fine fabrics the Seigal family manufactures.

"Hmm I'd call her a dog instead," Atropa answers him and it takes a moment for Domett to register the double meaning of what she said. When he does, he starts laughing but turns it into a cough when he gets a glare from his wife. "Alright what overindulgent Capitolite are we shipping stuff out to today?"

"Atropa, you need to watch your damn mouth!" Tulle scolds her but Atropa just stares at her with a blank stare, unable to muster up the energy to be angry. "What do I need to do to get you to embrace the fact that this is your life? Someday this store will be yours but if you're so ungrateful for the comfy life it's given you for years, well, I'm sure Clothos will gladly take over. You're seventeen. You need to start thinking about what you're going to do with your life."

Atropa simply gives a half-hearted shrug at this, only making her mother grow more irritated at her seemingly lack of caring. Not that she doesn't care about her life. She's very glad to be born in a wealthy family. But what's the point in planning ahead when everything is just up to fate? She'll just take whatever life decides to throw at her. And today that means packing up a bunch of fabric for someone way richer than them.

"I'll do your mindless task," Atropa tells her mother, accepting that her plans for the day have been derailed. But no matter, she can just get back to it later before she goes to see Fete. "Just give me my book back."

"No, I don't trust you not to abandon your work and start reading again," Tulle shakes her finger at Atropa as the bells on the shop door ring, calling her away to deal with a customer. She tosses the book over to her husband and Atropa lets out a noise of protest at the disgraceful way she handled the book. "Don't you dare give it to her until the boxes are packed up."

"Yes, ma'am," Domett even gives his wife a salute at this, only making her sigh and shake her head as she goes to talk to the customer. He starts laughing once she's gone and gently tosses the book back over to Atropa. "For both of our sakes, please don't start reading again until we're done. She's right, this is an important order to get out."

Atropa stares at the book longingly for a few seconds before setting it aside, knowing she can't keep reading yet. Fate's decided that she has to wait. She looks at one of the boxes that's partially packed to read the name on it. "Morvay-Maxwell?"

"Very important customers," her father tells her as she starts walking around the storage area, searching for the fabrics labeled with the last names. "Married couple, both retired. One used to be a Games stylist and the other was an escort."

Atropa glances over her shoulder at that, a bit surprised people so important are buying fabric from them and not from someone in the Capitol. "Probably a good payout then."

"It is," Domett tells her as she finds the fabric and takes it to wrap up in paper to avoid damage during transport. "Sonja wouldn't stop talking all excitedly on the phone when placing the order about making outfits for her family to wear to the victory tour party."

Atropa nods her head, mind going to thoughts of the Capitol and their parties. So much decadence that could be sent to the other Districts. And yet, a part of her wants to get all dressed up and appreciate all the fine art they have to offer. What she would give to attend the theater there or some university lectures. But life fated her to a simple life in Eight.

Oh well. Nothing she can do about it.

"In fact," her father keeps talking away, knowing Atropa is still listening to him despite her not partaking in the conversation at all. There's just more mentally stimulating conversations she would rather spend energy on and gossiping about Capitolites she's never met is not one of them. "I was able to get you something as a bit of an early birthday gift."

"My birthday is ten months away," Atropa looks over at him, almost wondering if he mixed up her birthday with the twins. "Are you already losing your memory?"

"Yes, I know that," Domett tells her, shaking his head at her but still having a bit of a smile on his face. "But when you go to this, it's only going to be four months early." He holds up a finger to her as he goes over to his cluttered desk and digs around in one of the drawers before pulling out two small pieces of paper. He brings them over to her, still holding on to them for a minute. "I know how much you love reading Shakespeare and when the university announced they were going to be putting on some shows next year, I had to buy you tickets."

He finally hands her over the two tickets and Atropa's eyes light up when she reads the show they're performing. "Romeo and Juliet? One of Shakespeare's best tragedies. But why two tickets? I'm fine with going on my own."

"I figured you could bring Fete with you," Domett responds and gets a mischievous smile that tells Atropa exactly where he's going with this. "It could be like a…oh I don't know, maybe a date?"

"Sure, Dad," Atropa answers him, fighting off an eye roll as she tucks the tickets in her book to not lose track of them. She's long since lost track of how many times her family has insinuated she should marry Fete. Today she's just amused by it. "There's a tiny problem with that," she tells him as she gets back to packing up the fabric, wanting to finish quickly now so she can go tell Fete about the show and make sure he doesn't have to work that evening. Even if he's probably going to sleep through the show, she can't wait to go with him. And it's not often that she looks forward to something like this.

"But he's a nice young man!" Domett tells her, still insisting on her ending up with her best friend. "You should be with him!"

"Not going to happen, even if he wishes he could find someone like me to date," Atropa chuckles and shakes her head as she checks the package order. Maybe someday her family will stop insisting she marries her best friend.

But fate has decided that today is not that day.

* * *

 _Fete Bayard_

 _Five Months Before The Reaping_

Fete's woken up by the sound of the front door shutting and he looks around briefly, not even able to muster the concern that it might be someone breaking in. But he quickly recognizes Atropa's footsteps approaching and shuts his eyes once more, really struggling to get energy to do anything today. He hasn't been able to bring himself to have the energy to do much at all since getting surgery a month ago. But he peeks open one eye and glances down at his now flat chest before shutting it once more, knowing it was so worth the pain and exhaustion. Well, the exhaustion isn't new, but this level of it is new.

Only thing he regrets is not having the energy to cook up a special meal today for Norman's birthday. But that's what friends are for.

One of his cats runs across his chest as Atropa enters the room and he groans at the pain. He opens his eyes as his best friend sits down in the kitty cuddle pile, immediately getting surrounded by cats and leaving Fete alone. "I've been betrayed by my own cats."

"That's life for you," Atropa answers him as she picks up Norman, kissing the top of his cute little head a bunch of times. "There's the birthday boy!" Norman squirms away from her and she pouts at this, but Pierre soon climbs onto her lap, letting out very loud meows until she starts scratching the top of his head. Atropa looks over at Fete as Coco moves back over to Fete, nudging his arm out of the way so she can climb under his jacket. "How are you feeling today?"

"Like I was hit by a truck," Fete mumbles through a yawn and he rubs his eyes, cringing as the movement tugs on his healing scars. "And sad I didn't have the energy to finish making a new sailor outfit for Norman's birthday."

Atropa gently picks up Pierre so she can reach into her pocket. She flops down into the pile of pillows, scooting next to him without bumping into him too much to hurt him. She holds out a small knit thing to him and he takes it as he gets a big yawn that turns into a groan as his chest stretches. "Did you really think I wouldn't make something for my favorite's birthday?"

Fete holds up the knitted thing to his face, staring at it for a few moments before realizing the it's a small little sailor hat for Norman. He gets a small smile at it before calling over Norman and slowly sits up. "Come here, Norman," he picks up his little boy, getting a bit of a growl from him not wanting to be held and shushes him before tying the hat to his head. "Be nice, your aunt made you a very nice hat for your birthday."

Fete pats his head once the ribbon is tied and lets go of Norman, letting him run a couple feet away before sitting down and looking over at them. "God he's so fucking cute," Atropa says as Fete lays back down, using up way too much energy to sit up. "I'd die for Norman."

"I know," Fete says as he holds back a yawn and starts getting snuggly again in his kitty pile. Bobby curls up next to him right away and Fete starts absentmindedly petting his head as he shuts his eyes, just wanting to go back to sleep. He knows Atropa won't mind him sleeping while she's here, it's happened pretty much every day that she's spent at his house with him.

He can hear some rustling of paper from next to him, along with the purring of his cats as they cuddle around him and Atropa. He can't imagine a better place to be right now than surrounded by those he loves the most in the world. "What sort of garbage are you reading now?"

"Not reading, looking," Fete mumbles as Atropa starts flipping through the pages. He can already feel himself slipping into another nap as she scoffs at the magazine. He opens one eye to see Atropa holding up the magazine above her. "Inspiration."

Atropa turns her head towards Fete, just to look at him as she shakes her head. "I need to give you better books to read while you're just laying around."

"Or I could just sleep," Fete responds, shutting his eye again to go back to napping. "Or plan ahead."

"Hmm," Atropa responds, but lets Fete just rest as she keeps flipping through the magazine, scoffing occasionally and laughing at what it says. Fete really only bought it for the pictures, but at least she's finding amusement in the absurd rumors the Capitol makes up. "Aura's wedding looks nice."

"Ya," Fete mumbles out, already having stared at all of it. Getting to organize a victor's wedding would be the greatest accomplishment his company could achieve, but unsurprisingly, the victor from One didn't pick him to plan her wedding.

"Did Emilio really wear a dress? Interesting choice but okay then," Atropa says quietly to herself, still chuckling a little. "You could have done better."

Fete hums at this, knowing it's the truth. The wedding wasn't bad, but he's seen better by his own hands. And he never would have put her in a princess style gown. Her stylist wasted her tall figure by not putting her in a sheath silhouette. But if she wants to look like that, whatever, her choice to not look as stellar as possible.

He opens his eyes as Atropa starts laughing more at the magazine, curious what she could have found so funny. "Read this," she tells him pointing at a small passage.

Fete sighs at having to waste energy on reading Capitol trash. But since Atropa told him to, he starts reading it, knowing she wouldn't have told him to read anything below her usual philosophical stuff or old classic novels unless he would be amused. _'Who will be the next victor to get married? The readers have voted and the top choice was Jory and Emilio, with Glenwood and Caladium in second, and in a close third place, Astrid, who is rumored to be dating one of the Capitol's very own, Mariposa Morvay-Maxwell!'_

Fete lets out a noise at this, alerting Atropa to being done reading it. She tosses the magazine away, making Coco jump up to go investigate it and leaving a cold spot next to him. "Nooo, come back," Fete sighs loudly at this and turns to look at Atropa. "Thanks."

"Oh she'll be back, don't worry," Atropa tells him and he just shuts his eyes again, not wanting to face her snark slipping out. That would require too much energy. "Why are they voting for Astrid to be next to get married if it's only just rumored that she's dating someone? But maybe if they're already speculating on these two getting married, it's just fated that they're meant to be together."

"Or the Capitol will gossip about everything," Fete tells her, being all too familiar with Capitol gossip from reading their magazines over the years for fashion inspiration.

"Perhaps that's what is fated," Atropa says ominously and Fete just shakes his head at her, but his lips turn up in the faintest hint of a smile at her speculations on fate. "Well she better pick you to plan the wedding."

"Yeah…" He answers sleepily, too tired to tell her that it's unlikely the wedding will even happen because she'll just respond that it's fate or something. "That's the goal, get a victor's wedding and not have to work for months after with how much they pay."

"Make that fate yours, my friend," Atropa tells him and he feels movement from her, making him open up his eyes again to stare up at her. "Alright you sleep while I get together a special birthday meal for Norman."

"You're the best," Fete tells her as she starts walking away.

Atropa waves over her shoulder at him and calls back at him, "I know."

Once Atropa is out of the room, Fete closes his eyes once more and pulls Finch closer to him, wanting to cuddle with the fluffy ragdoll cat right now. Finch starts purring immediately and climbs onto his shoulder, putting her face right up against his neck and making her purrs loud in his ear.

Fete sighs in contentment, about as happy as he can get without putting too much energy that he doesn't have into the emotion. He has cats cuddling with him and his best friend over to help him celebrate one of his kitties' birthday. Plus he hasn't had to work for a month thanks to the surgery that's helped reduce some of his dysphoria. Life isn't too bad.

If only he wasn't so exhausted and unable to fully enjoy it.

* * *

 _Atropa Seigal_

 _Two Months Before The Reaping_

Today is a rare day when Atropa is actually glad fate decided to put her in District Eight. Of all the District universities to have a focus on the arts, she didn't expect it to be Eight, but she is not complaining. Not when she got to see her one of her two favorite plays be brought to life.

Her mind hasn't been able to stop analyzing the production since the standing ovation and now her friend is being subjected to her speculations as they try to get out of the theater with the rest of the crowd. She keeps one arm hooked through Fete's to not lose her sleepy friend. "I'm thoroughly impressed with the use of fake blood to make Juliet's death look realistic. The actress playing Juliet wasn't bad, but I think I could do better. What do you think?"

Fete lets out a grunt at this and Atropa looks down at him, finding him struggling to keep his eyes open, even though he's standing. "You slept through the whole thing, didn't you?"

Fete looks over at her with eyes lined with dark circles and he blinks a couple times, clearly struggling to bring up the energy to respond. "It was dark and the seats were comfy."

"Fair, my friend," Atropa responds before looking forward, wondering why they're all at a standstill while trying to get out. "What's the hold up?"

From their spot at the top of the stairs, she has a great view down at the crowd, a real lucky stroke of fate. She finds the crowd slowed by a small group of the victors trying to leave the show, just like the rest of them, that's gathering a lot of attention thanks to last year's Games. Atropa can just barely see the top of Clark's head as he tries to keep himself hidden from people as he pulls his boyfriend along with him. A sharp voice is cutting through the crowd, surely belonging to the redhead victor that mentored Clark. "Oi, give him some fucking space!"

Astrid pushes someone aside before glancing back at a woman with her that Atropa doesn't recognize and with her face partially covered, thanks to the hat she wears over her dark brown hair. But from what she can see of the woman, she can tell she's cute. "Did Astrid find a girlfriend? Lucky woman, whoever fate decided should end up with Astrid."

"Sure," Fete responds before grunting at someone pushing into them from behind.

"Move it, brats," the guy says as Atropa looks back at him, his words slurred a bit. He holds on to his friend's shoulder and up close, his breath reeks of alcohol. She doesn't know why someone would get drunk to see a play, especially a tragedy like this one, but that's college students for you.

Atropa glances at her friend and is ready to just ignore the drunk before seeing her friend looking unhappy at getting shoved. Well, as unhappy as he can actually muster the energy to show. So she turns back to him and tells him ominously, "You're going to fall down the stairs and hurt yourself."

"Yeah, okay weirdo," the guy sarcastically responds before laughing with his friend and shoving past Atropa and Fete.

Atropa keeps watching him as they keep pushing people aside to start going down the stairs. And sure enough, after a few seconds, the guy trips and tumbles down a few steps, knocking a couple people down with him and making people cry out. "See? Fate is speaking through me, Feet Boy."

"Or he's drunk and anyone could see he's likely to fall," Fete retorts, pointing out what seems like the obvious answer to what happened.

But Atropa knows better and laughs as she leads Fete away from them. They start making their way around the crowd stopping to help the fallen people and she feels no remorse for the guy. He should have listened to her, but he chose not to. "Don't deny me my powers of fate."

"Sure," Fete says through a yawn and Atropa just keeps moving along, knowing she needs to get her friend back home so he can get some sleep. Soon enough, they finally make it out of the theater and out into the calm spring night.

Atropa takes a moment to breath in, smiling a bit at the night. Early spring is just the best time of the year…no more snow, but it's not as hot as the devil's armpit yet. "Come on," Atropa tells Fete, leaning into his arm to steal some of his warmth before leading him on. She should have worn a jacket because her knit sweater is not enough to keep her warm tonight. "Let's get you home to your cats."

"Please," Fete tells her, voice showing just a hint of emotions from him. It's not a surprise at all to her that one of the rare things to bring enjoyment to his life are his cats. After what fate has given him so far in life, the poor guy deserves some happiness from his cats.

Fete stays silent as they walk back, allowing Atropa's mind to run wild as she thinks over the play they just watched. She knows there's no point in talking to Fete about it since he slept through the whole thing, which was what she expected from her friend. If he can fall asleep standing in the middle of the busy city, he was going to fall asleep in the dark theater. But no matter, he needs the naps. Atropa at least enjoyed the show. Someday she'll talk Fete into auditioning for the lead roles if they do another run of it. She just adores the star-crossed lovers and yeah, her and Fete might be the farthest from being star-crossed lovers as possible, but she knows they would nail the roles.

"You know, I just love how they're fated to die from the very start," Atropa says out loud, getting a grunt from Fete that tells her he's at least listening to her analysis of the play. "Literally in the prologue the audience is told exactly what will happen and we're destined to watch this tragedy play out… And the two lovers are just doomed to die, but at least their death fulfills a cause of getting their families to stop." Atropa sighs at the thought of the play, loving a good romantic tragedy. "Fate is just beautiful."

"Thank you, I know I am," Fete mumbles and Atropa looks down at him for a second before shaking her head at him actually cracking a joke about the pronunciation of his name.

"Sure, Feet Boy," she teases him, getting a scoff in return. "Not what I meant but go for it. Take it as a confidence booster."

"Don't need it," Fete grunts out before falling quiet again, leaving Atropa to shake her head a bit at him. But she's happy to have him being confident in his appearance after years of watching him struggle through the awkwardness of their teen years.

They stay quiet again as they finish making their way to Fete's house, located not too far from the university, thanks to its location close to the market area. Fete just lets Atropa unlock it with her key that he gave her and she gently shoves him inside, worried he'll start falling asleep soon standing up. Atropa crouches down as they're greeted by five cats, the sixth one slowly following after the rest of them and meowing loudly. "Go lay down, I'll feed them."

Fete grunts out acknowledgement of this and starts walking into the house as Atropa heads towards the kitchen, the cats following her and crying for their dinner. "I know, your Daddy is late to feed you. That's my fault for keeping him out late." Atropa pets Norman's cute little head before he moves out of her reach and she gets back to grabbing their food containers. "Maybe I'll give you a special treat once Fete's in bed. I think you deserve a treat for being good kitties."

Once six bowls are filled and the meowing has quieted down, Atropa starts looking through the house for where her friend went, not finding him in the kitty pile or his bedroom. She knows where he is, the only other place he would be and heads towards his mother's office. Atropa finds him with his head resting on the desk, already starting to snore lightly, hand clutching an empty glass holding the remnants of the scotch he needs to sleep soundly.

Atropa just sighs at him falling asleep at the desk and grabs a blanket from the other room to put over her friend. She doesn't approve the nightly drinking and part of her is worried he'll end up the same way as his mother. And yet, she knows it's what he needs to sleep at night and not be reminded of the shitty things fate has thrown at him already in his short life so far.

Fete stirs briefly as Atropa tucks the blanket around him, peeking open one eye just to look up at her and mumble out something sounding vaguely like 'Thank you'.

Atropa just pats the top of his head before leaving the room, closing the door most of the way to not wake him if she makes any noise but allow cats to still get in there. She heads back out to the living room, grabbing her bag as she goes and taking out her latest book from her father. With a content sigh, she flops down in the kitty pile and slowly starts getting surrounded by cats as she opens up her book to where she left off.

Now this is a great life fate has given her.

* * *

 _Devrek 'Dave' Pecivo, Escort for District Eight_

Dave's been preparing for the Reaping and his big debut for a long time now. And by a long time, he totally means he started practicing last night. But he was the best recorder player back in the fourth grade and skills like that don't just fade away over the years. Like he's totally going to be the next Mozart or something. Or at the very least the next Aineon.

Man he is so lucky to have Aineon last year give him the inspiration to know what will help him stand out as an escort. It wasn't going to be his extravagant style of t-shirts and cargo shorts, that's for sure, even if a guy can dream that his casual outfit will win over someone. But playing the recorder? That sealed the deal with getting him the job and he was put in Eight – _Eight!_ – of all places. Five would have been better so he could get Letha to adopt him, but Eight! With Astrid, the slay queen, and Clark!

He can't wait to ask them to play the recorder with him.

Dave takes a deep breath from backstage, although he's disappointed that he's stuck backstage and not at the back of the crowd like Aineon got to do last year. But no matter, he has his trusty recorder in hand, and he's ready to go.

He was not ready to go.

Dave starts to play the sweeping melody of his favorite song, My Heart Will Go On, as he walks out on the stage. The song was an easy choice for him, just resonating deep in his heart and making him so angsty. He keeps playing through the squeaks and even messing up some of the notes. So maybe he's not the nineteen year old champ of playing the recorder, but he's still the fourth grade champ.

"Yo, what up everyone!" Dave says when he finally stops playing, chuckling a bit at himself as the crowd watches on with apprehension. "I'm your new escort, Devrek Pecivo, but you can call me Dave, or 'That guy!' or even just 'Recorder Dude'. But if you don't remember my name, that's cool, not all of us are as memorable as Aineon – the dude's a legend – but we can try."

Dave grins out at the crowd, waiting for some sort of response from them, but they stay silent, watching him with concern. He turns back towards the victors, hoping that he managed to impress the team he'll be working with over the course of the Games, just wanting to be accepted into their fam. But Astrid gives him a cold glare that slays him right then and there, and he's torn between fear and appreciation for the woman as he turns back to the crowd. "Alright, cool, yeah, we can like, get started then."

Dave looks between the two glass spheres, still holding on to his trusty recorder, and contemplates what to do. He shrugs before heading to the first one and finds a slip of paper that stands out to him or something – are the escorts supposed to just _know_ who to pick? Ah, whatever, he's sure whoever it is will be cool.

"Alright, alright," Dave says loudly into the microphone and lets out a _whoop_ of excitement. "First up we got Atropa Seigal! Come on up and claim your prize!"

Dave waits a moment and starts considering if he should play the recorder while waiting for the tributes to come up to the stage, but he didn't practice very many songs and he's the best at My Heart Will Go On. He can't repeat the same song. But Atropa doesn't keep him waiting, which is cool, and heads up to the stage, barely looking like she's bothered at all by being reaped. "Hey, welcome, welcome!" Dave says to the girl as she reaches the stage, standing well above his short stature. "How are you feeling? Want me to play a song?"

Atropa stares at him with a cool stare that starts to unnerve him just a little bit before speaking up to him, "I can think of a lot of things that would be more enjoyable than listening to you play more."

"Ouch, harsh critic," Dave says and jokingly places a hand over his heart. "Guess I gotta keep practicing for your victory tour."

"I would encourage it," she shrugs at him as the crowd laughs from her comment and she turns out to face them, looking accepting of being chosen. "I guess this is just fate getting chosen and there must be a reason. I'll figure that reason out and take my fate."

"Cool, cool," Dave nods his head at her, not quite knowing what she's talking about, but going with it. He brushes off her comments about practicing more, knowing he's no Aineon yet, but he has the confidence to laugh at himself. "Alright I guess I'll pick the other tribute?"

Dave tucks away his recorder in one of the many pockets of his cargo shorts as he goes to the second glass sphere to pick the next tribute. He kind of just picks the paper at random and just hopes for the best that they'll turn out cool. Once back at the microphone, he grins out at the crowd as he tries to figure out how to pronounce the tribute's name. "And then we have…Feta? Feet? Yeah, lets go with Feet Bayard."

"It's pronounced fate!" someone yells out from the crowd, immediately drawing everyone's attention over to him. The guy looks around at everyone before quickly walking up to the stage. Before Dave can even say anything to him, Fete grabs onto the microphone and leans towards it, holding it uncomfortably close to his mouth. "You better take care of my cats in case I come back with a vengeance. Or else I will haunt you from the grave."

Fete lets go of the microphone to give a weird handshake to Atropa before stepping back, looking too tired to express anymore emotions about this. "Alright," Dave starts, not quite sure what to make about Fete's words and the fact that these two seem to know each other. "Cats are cool. Not as cool as Velour and Clark's dogs but-" Dave cuts off with a glare from Fete at implying his cats aren't cool and he quickly moves on. "Oh-kay then! Oh wait, I was supposed to ask for volunteers, right?" He looks back at the victors, trying to get confirmation about this. But Clark is just staring down at the ground, Astrid is just shaking her head as she holds back a snicker, and the others won't look at him.

So Dave shrugs and turns back to the crowd. "I guess I'll ask now? Any volunteers?" No one calls out, so he shrugs at them. "That's alright, we can't all be as brave and confident as me. I'm sure Atropa and Fete here will do great!"

Dave grins at the two of them, all jokes aside, knowing he wants to help these two out. But as they look at each other, both with a pained but determined look on their faces, it slowly starts to set in to him that they're people only a year or two younger than him. They're not just people he watches on screen and is detached from.

He doesn't know much about what he's supposed to do, but he'll do his best. And hopefully get them to play the recorder with him and the victors.

* * *

 **Time for one last update of 2018! Big thank yous to Little Knight Mik, OfficialBengy, and david12341 for Fete, Atropa, and Devrek respectively! I hope I did well with them! It was a blast writing two tributes that are best friends before the reaping and getting to include them in each other's sections. And of course, Devrek was great for being a walking meme lol. And you bet I took every opportunity to write about Fete's cats lol.**

 **As always, what do you think? Did you expect Fete and Atropa to know each other? How are these two going to handle going into the Games together? What costume would you make for a cat? And what song would you request Devrek to play on the recorder?**

 **I hope you all have had a great year and an even better 2019. If you're going out tonight, have fun and be safe! I will see you all in 2019 for District Nine! We're getting there, only three more intros to go!**


	14. District 9: Life's Cruelty

**Chapter 10:**

 _District Nine_

 _Eliot Eidner, 13_

 _One Year and One Month Before The Reaping_

Mornings in the Eidner household are always a bit of controlled chaos, most of which is Eliot's fault. They always started out with the same routine. His mother would be up first, getting breakfast ready for the four of them. His father would try to get Eliot up and moving, but what kid actually wants to get up to go spend all day in school? Only good part of it is the time with his friends. Eliot will give him big wide eyes and beg him for a few more minutes, and his father will give in like always, ruffling Eliot's shaggy hair and make the young boy smack his hand away. But the few minutes wouldn't last long until his grandfather would come in and tell Eliot how he has to get up and go to class, using himself as an example and proudly telling him how he's never missed a single day of work. That would get him up and dressed quickly so he can head into the kitchen, getting in his mother's way as she tries to get the table set with food and scolding him for grabbing a piece of toast early, but she can never stay mad at him. Not when all four of them sit down for breakfast.

Today was no different, even if the remainder of the day would end up totally different for all of them.

"Hi Mom!" Eliot yells as he runs past her, barely avoiding knocking the hot pan out of her hands that she's bringing over to the table.

She sighs at him and shakes her head, but Eliot glances up at her as he snatches up a piece of toast and finds her fighting off a smile at him. "One of these days you're going to actually run into me and everyone is going to blame you for breakfast being on the floor."

Grandpa laughs loudly at this and Eliot grins over at him, "That's likely to happen because he loves doing stuff that's downright fucking dumb."

"Dad!" Dennis Eidner yells as he enters the kitchen, making Eliot and his grandfather laugh at his reaction. "Why do you always have to swear in front of him?"

"He's thirteen, he needs to get ready for the real world," Meren Eidner tells his only son before pointing over at Eliot and giving him a knowing look. "He's not going to be a child forever and better to hear this from us than in the fields."

"He's right!" Eliot mumbles out around a mouthful of food, earning himself a scolding look from his mother. He purposely finishes chewing and dramatically swallows before opening his mouth wide to show he's done before talking once more. "Grandpa is teaching me all sorts of things, like how to be a hardworker and to call people useless pieces of shi-"

"Okay," Meren cuts him off by putting a hand over Eliot's mouth, but he can't hold back his laughter at Eliot. But he cuts off shortly after with a bit of a wince as he rubs his upper arm.

"Are you okay?" Dennis asks Maren and Eliot watches with concern as he gets back to shoving food into his mouth so he isn't late for walking to school with his friends. "You don't have to work today if you're in pain."

"Nonsense," Maren gives a wave of his hand to get his son to back off. "I'm fine, just a bit of aching in my arm. I haven't missed a single day of work yet and a bit of pressure in my arm certainly won't stop that. What kind of example would I be to Eliot if I didn't go?"

"Exactly!" Eliot adds on, getting a proud smile from his grandfather that he quickly returns as he glances over at the clock. "Oh I gotta get going!"

"Did you do your homework?" Eliot's mother asks him as he's finishing up his breakfast.

Eliot glances around before quickly shoving the last few bites of food into his mouth. He jumps up from the table, laughing around the food in his mouth as he runs back to his room. "Sorry Mom, just look at the time, I better leave or I'll be late!"

"Eliot!"

The boy laughs as he grabs is beaten up old backpack that used to be his mother's and swings it up on his shoulder before running back out to the kitchen. "Bye Mom, bye Dad, bye Grandpa!" He yells on his way out the door, getting a bunch of goodbyes yelled back at him.

Once he shuts the door behind him, he pauses to laugh a little at his mother thinking he didn't do his homework. Of course he did it, he did it last night with Grandpa. Even after working all day out in the grain fields, his grandfather still was willing to spend time with him to help him out. Sure, he sometimes calls Eliot 'smart as hell, but dumb as a bag of rocks', but he always talks to him about getting ready for real adulting while still saving up for small treats for him. And that's why he loves his only grandparent so much.

Eliot skips down the front steps of their house and begins the walk over to the first of his friends' houses, grinning to himself as he thinks about the plan he has for them to do today. They're totally going to find it hilarious and he can't wait to see their reactions.

It's going to be a good day.

* * *

Eliot has his head close to his friends as they eat their lunches and plan out their next prank to pull. Whitmer is still trying to convince him and Emma that their prank on the captain of his baseball team's rival is a bad idea, but there's nothing he can do to stop them. Not when the teacher is out in the hallway talking with someone from the office.

"I'm telling you, it's going to work, no question about it," Eliot tells the two, glancing over at his number one enemy. "No one is going to know it was us that put fish jerky hidden in his desk and stuff. It will just start smelling and he'll have no idea where it came from!"

"But what if we get caught?" Whitmer asks them, looking afraid about starting the prank just like he is every time, but he always is laughing by the end.

Emma laughs at this and leans back, trying to pretend to be all sophisticated compared to them and like she didn't help Eliot come up with this plan. "Well Eliot can just get us out of trouble like always."

Eliot nods his head at them and gives them a big grin that always makes Grandpa shake his head and claim that he's 'the cutest little shit head he's ever seen'. "Exactly. So we'll just stay back a few minutes at the end of the day. Whitmer will talk to the teacher and ask him for a bit of extra help. Shouldn't be too hard to fake."

"Hey!" Whitmer says, sounding a bit offended at his comment while Eliot and Emma just laugh at his reaction.

"Can you stop being so loud and annoying for more than a minute?" Someone calls over to them and the three of them all look over at the person, annoyed expression on their face. Eliot just sticks his tongue out at them and they start laughing at their reaction as they turn back to each other.

"As I was saying," Eliot continues, holding back laughter at the person being annoyed at them. That happens at least ten times each day. "Whitmer will distract the teacher while Emma and I put the-"

"Eliot!"

"It wasn't me, I swear, Mr. Harrison!" Eliot says quickly, sitting back from his friends to look over at their teacher with his best cute little kid look. Most of the time it sucks looking way younger, but when avoiding getting in trouble? Then having a baby face is the best.

"You're not in trouble," Mr. Harrison answers him, but narrows his eyes just a little at Eliot and his friends, seemingly questioning what they're up to. So Eliot cranks up his smile at him, but this only makes the teacher start frowning. "You need to head down to the office."

"I swear I didn't do anything!" Eliot tells him immediately, starting to frown and give him big puppy eyes.

"You're not in trouble," Mr. Harrison responds and nods his head towards the classroom door. "They also said to bring your stuff with you."

 _Oh no, that can't be good._

Eliot slowly packs up his bag as his friends stare at him, eyes full of concern. He tries to think through everything that he could have gotten in trouble for lately because he doesn't believe Mr. Harrison telling him he's not in trouble.

"Good luck," Emma whispers to him when he stands up and Whitmer nods his head in agreement with her.

Eliot just gives them a confident smile, not wanting his friends to be worried for him. "I'll be fine! Like Mr. Harrison said, I'm not in trouble." He leans closer to them to speak in a hushed whisper, "And if I am, you know I can talk my way out of it."

Eliot is chuckling along with his friends as he walks over to the door, trying to ignore the worried look on Mr. Harrison's face as he passes the teacher. He turns back at the door to give his friends a reassuring thumbs up but once out in the hallway and away from their view, the smile drops from his face and he starts getting a little nervous that he is in trouble. Maybe today is the day he finally gets in trouble for all the things he does to make sure people like him.

But his curiosity wins and he starts marching over to the office, ready to face whatever is waiting for him. Just before entering, he puts his best cute smile on his face, in case he is in trouble.

He walks into the office with as much confidence as a thirteen year old can muster, ready to tell Principal Hudson whatever to get out of trouble. But he stops and his smile falters when he sees his mother standing there. "Mom? I swear, I didn't do anything."

"I know, that's not why I'm here," she tells him as she takes a couple steps closer to him. He stares up at her, concern slowly building in him as he sees her eyes glossy before she suddenly hugs him. "You're dismissed for the rest of the day because…"

"Because what?" Eliot asks as he tries to squirm out of her hug, knowing it would not be cool at all for someone to see him hugging his mom. But when she sniffles, he starts hugging her back right away, forgetting what anyone else might think because cheering up her up is way more important. "Mom, you can tell me, I can handle it. I promise."

"It's your grandfather…" she whispers to him as she pulls him closer, running a hand over his hair. Eliot tenses up at that, but soon relaxes, knowing he must be fine. He was acting normal all morning today. "He…he had a h-heart attack and…and they couldn't get a doctor there in time."

Eliot freezes up at this, refusing to believe what she just told him… It just can't be true. "What?"

"H-he," his Mom tries to say before letting out a sob. Eliot can feel his own eyes starting to prickle with tears as he shakes his head, still not wanting to believe it. There's just no way Grandpa can be dead… "I'm so sorry."

Eliot keeps shaking his head as the tears finally slip out and he can't do anything to keep them from falling. Grandpa is such a good man and hardworking… _he was fine just this morning._ How could he go from perfectly fine to…to gone in a few hours?

"No," Eliot shakes his head at this some more, refusing to believe it. "He can't be gone."

* * *

Eliot hasn't been able to bring himself to leave the kitchen ever since getting home with his mother. He couldn't handle walking around the empty house and seeing all the reminders of his grandfather there. And he worries that once he sees that Grandpa isn't there, it's going to truly hit him that he's gone and Eliot didn't even get to say goodbye to him. He'd much rather stay numb and pretend everything is alright, that any minute now his grandfather is going to walk through the door, calling out hello to everyone and making sure to come say hi to him before doing anything else. And then after dinner he'll tell Eliot all about his day, give some advice, and help Eliot with whatever homework he has to do.

Maybe if he keeps thinking that's what will happen, it will…right?

So he keeps sitting in the kitchen, trying to be his normal energetic self to help cheer up his mother. He just can't stand seeing her being so upset, yet the things he says that would normally cheer her up aren't doing anything. She just keeps giving him half-hearted answers as she slowly cooks dinner, occasionally sniffling and wiping at her face. She refuses to look over at Eliot, and that's the worst part and is just making him feel like he's annoying her. That's the last thing he wants to do to her right now…he just wants her to be happy…

With a heavy sigh, Jan Eidner takes a long look over at the clock in the kitchen and Eliot follows her gaze over to it. "Your father should be home soon…" she says softly, her voice raw and wavering a bit from the tears she's struggling to hold back.

Eliot keeps staring over at the clock, knowing that by this time, both his father and grandfather should have been home… His father only isn't home because he worked late to make up for Jan leaving early to bring Eliot home. It's such a small detail, but it's finally the thing that makes it sink in to Eliot that his grandfather is truly gone.

A choked sob escapes from him despite everything in him screaming to keep it back and keep trying to cheer up his mother. The sound makes her set down the spoon she was using immediately and she turns around to face him finally. When he sees the tear stains on her cheeks, he finally breaks down and starts sobbing loudly, unable to stop it. "He should have been home by now…"

"Oh sweetie," Jan responds and moves over to him, crouching down to be at his eye level. She grabs onto the sides of his face and tries to wipe away the tears steadily falling down his cheeks and he keeps sobbing and starts shaking his head at her. "I know… It's going to be a while to accept that he's really gone. The world isn't fair and takes away the best people too soon." She pauses to take a shaky breath, clearly struggling to keep her own tears back as she starts smoothing over Eliot's hair. "He wouldn't want us to be sad for him, would he?"

Eliot shakes his head at this, knowing she's completely right… "If he we-were here," he starts, voice shaking and he struggles to speak through his sobs that hurt his chest, "He would t-tell us that's life and we're all going to die eventually…"

Jan flinches at the choice of words but tries to force herself to smile at him, except it comes out as more of a grimace. "Yes…but also that we have to keep living each day to the fullest." She keeps staring at him, waiting until he nods his head in understanding at her, except he can't understand why his grandfather had to be taken away from them so soon. "I know how close you were to him…and it's going to be hard to move forward without him. But…do you think you can keep being my little Ray Of Sunshine?"

Eliot gets the tiniest smile at her nickname for him, the nickname that inspired her to make his middle name be Ray, even if it is cheesy. "I can try…" he tells her, knowing he wants to make her happy, but he just doesn't know how to be happy himself or if he's annoying her now.

"Good, because we're going to need your cheerfulness for a while now," she tells him, forcing herself to smile a bit at him. "He'd want you to take this as a life lesson. Loss really hurts…but it happens to all of us. And you are so very lucky that you had such a loving grandfather in your life. I didn't have that with my parents…so make sure you value the time you did have with him."

Eliot nods his head at her and tries to wipe away some of the tears on his cheeks, but they're quickly replaced. "I can try…"

"That's all we can do," she answers before giving him a kiss on the forehead. She stands up so she can pull him into a tight hug, and Eliot holds onto her tightly, just needing some comfort from his mother right now. But up close, he can hear how shaky her breaths are as she tries to be strong for him, and it only makes him sob even harder. "I need you to keep being brave… And you can't quit school because we have one less person working full time in the family now. He wouldn't want that at all. We'll figure out some way to make things work…"

"I can take tesserae…" Eliot tells her, even if he's terrified at the thought of increasing his chances of being picked for the Games. But…if it makes things easier for his parents, he'll do it. He'll do whatever it takes to help them out and make them happier. He would have quit school to work more in the fields and had already started considering it, but…she's right, Grandpa never would have wanted him to do that. "If it will help, I will."

"Not yet, honey," she responds, voice filling with fear at just the mention of tesserae. "We won't do that yet. Somehow, we'll find a way to make things work… I won't let the odds of losing you increase. So just keep working hard in school and we'll be fine…"

"I don't feel very fine…" Eliot mumbles against her, feeling far from it. He doesn't even know how he's supposed to feel. He's never gone through this before…and didn't think he would go through it any time soon. "It's just not fair…"

"I know, sweetie," she whispers to him while running her hand over his hair, holding him close as he just can't accept this being real life. Yet…somehow, he has to. He has to keep going on and find a way to be cheerful for his parents. "Sometimes life really isn't fair…"

* * *

 _Sky Odum, 13_

 _One Year Before The Reaping_

As the clock keeps ticking closer and closer to noon, Sky grows more and more anxious as she paces in front of the television, biting her lip as she watches the commentary from Kora Flickerman as everyone gets ready for the start of the 149th Hunger Games. Everything about this is all wrong… Sky should be sitting here with Marek, making brash comments about the careers while Marek cracks the dumbest jokes that she always refuses to laugh at, but after one look at the dumb grin on his face, she bursts into a matching grin. And after the bloodbath ends, they would go eat lunch together and be glad that they were never in that situation.

But that's not her reality anymore.

She's barely been able to hold back her anger that Marek was chosen for the Games a week ago. The one good thing she's finally had in her life…taken away from her and sent into a death match. She can't lose him, the one person she trusts. He just can't die yet. They're supposed to spend the rest of their lives together, just two best friends constantly getting teased that they'll end up married someday. And they'll always pale at that and shake their heads, but deep down, Sky believes it too, even if she won't tell him. But maybe one day she would finally get the courage to say something to him.

But that future is quickly disappearing because when has life ever been fair to her?

Sky knows her friend…the sweet idiot who won't even stand up for himself against bullies in school, no matter how much Sky tries to get him to have a backbone. He's not a fighter, not like so many of the other tributes getting launched into the same arena with him right now…

Sky stops her pacing as the one minute countdown starts, standing way too close to the television and refusing to miss anything that Marek does. She wants to believe in him and that he'll make it out of there alive. She _desperately_ wants to believe it… "Damn it, why would they put him next to a career!" Sky yells at the screen, watching her only friend search around for his allies and ignoring the one two spots over from him, desperately waving to get his attention. "Come on, Marek, don't be an idiot!"

As the final seconds tick down, Sky digs her nails into her palms so hard she starts to feel a slow trickle of blood, but she can't bring her gaze away from the screen. "Please, Marek, don't die on me," Sky whispers to herself, ignoring the group of orphans behind her, all waiting to see what will happen to the boy who is all of their friends.

The gong goes off at the same time as an explosion and Sky flinches at first, fear freezing her up that for some reason it was Marek. But her eyes quickly find him and she lets out a brief sigh of relief that he wasn't the very first death, but she's soon frozen in place with wide eyes as she watches her friend start running, but in the wrong direction. "You idiot!" She screams at the screen, desperately wishing her friend could hear her right now. "Listen to your ally!"

Yet Marek doesn't listen to his ally yelling at him to leave the others. No, the stupid idiot starts running right towards the front of the cornucopia, right where some of the careers have already gathered. Sky's eyes start stinging with tears of fear she refuses to let fall, even when the others behind her let out screams when Jett throws a knife towards Marek that thankfully misses him.

"Run, Skye!" Marek shouts at his ally and Sky curses at the blind girl that Marek _had_ to befriend. He should have left her behind!

"Save yourself, you idiot!" Sky screams at the screen, taking a step closer in desperation for her friend. "No!" She screams as Marek tackles Beryl to the ground, all so he can yell at his ally that the career was running towards.

Sky can only watch, frozen in terror, as Marek stares at his ally running away in relief, right before the career under him twists around and slams an axe into the side of his head.

People behind her cry out and the world goes out of focus for Sky as she falls down to her knees, staring at the body of her only friend, axe still sticking out of his head as he's just shoved aside by Beryl as if he meant nothing. "No…" Sky mutters as she starts shaking her head, wanting to refuse to believe that Marek is dead. "Come on, Marek, get up! Get up you dumb idiot!"

But he's never getting up. That stupid idiot that she loved is never going to get up or crack another one of his stupid jokes or try to cheer kids up by doing a magic trick. All because he had to be too good of a person and insist on running towards one of his allies.

Five cannons sound and the noise echoes in Sky's head long after they've stopped, replaying with the image of her friend getting an axe to the side of his head. That image is going to forever haunt her, just like the image of her parents' dead eyes… _Why does she always lose everyone that means something to her?_

When Marek's smiling face is shown on the screen with '19th place' under it, Sky lets out a scream of anguish and jumps towards it, sending her fist into Marek's image. "Why would you do that?! You idiot!" She yells as she keeps punching the screen, watching cracks spread across it and the broken glass starts ripping at her knuckles, but she doesn't care. She just can't stare at the image of her friend any longer.

"Sky!" Someone yells at her and she stops punching the screen to stare down at her bleeding knuckles through blurry eyes.

"He can't-" Sky chokes out, suddenly gasping for air through the pain in her chest. "He can't be gone!"

Someone takes a step towards her and she clutches her bleeding hand to her chest and steps back from them. "No! Leave me alone!" She screams at them before turning around and running out the front door of the orphanage, desperate to get outside to some fresh air and away from all the sobs surrounding her. But outside doesn't provide her the silence she so desperately craves as people follow after her, still shouting her name. So she starts sprinting away from the orphanage and all the memories that are now going to haunt her there. She runs as fast as her legs will carry her, barely able to see where she's going through the tears blurring her eyes.

Sky has no clue how long she runs for until her legs collapse under her and she cries out as she falls to the ground. She tries putting her hands out to catch herself but instead slams her fists into the ground, tearing open the cuts on her right hand even more. She gasps for air as her lungs burn from both sobs and exhaustion as she curls up into a ball, clutching her aching hand to her chest.

She lets out an anguished scream until she runs out of oxygen and is left gasping once more. "Why?" Sky gasps out and slams her uninjured fist into the ground. "WHY?!" She screams louder, unable to let out anything other than that one word question. Why did he have to run towards his ally? She got out alive with the other girl… Everyone else in his alliance got out alive aside from him.

"You dumbass, why do you have to care so damn much about people?" Sky chokes out around sobs, still slamming her fists into the ground. She doesn't care if anyone hears her, not that anyone would actually care enough to ask her if she's alright. The only person to ever do that was Marek…and he's gone now, all because he had to be an altruistic hero and tackle a fucking career.

A new rage builds in her at the image replaying over and over in her head, tormenting her with the bitter reminder that her only friend is gone. "I'll fucking kill her," Sky mutters to herself as she pulls up her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs as blood keeps falling from her hand. "Fuck every single twisted person who volunteers for the Games!" God, she wishes she could be in that arena right now so she could kill Beryl herself. That bitch deserves the most painful death for killing the best soul the world had to offer.

Sky turns her eyes up to the sky, her heart breaking all over again from yet another loss in the shitty life she's had. "Why did you have to leave me all alone? How could you abandon me like this?"

Sky chokes out a sob and shuts her eyes. Her mind keeps replaying the image of Marek being killed over and over again, just to torment her even more with the knowledge that he's gone. _Why did she ever give him her heart?_

* * *

 _Six Months Later_

Sky didn't plan on going to the City Square for the victory tour. She didn't want to see the victor standing there that wasn't Marek, the boy barely younger than Marek was. She didn't want to hear the fake words he would say about both of the tributes from Nine, two people who he didn't know and deserved to win more than he ever did. But she mostly didn't want to face the people that had abandoned her just days after Marek's death, sent her away to a new orphanage, all because she turned 13. The Hall family didn't care about her or the fact that she was Marek's friend. To them, she was just another number, another mouth they know longer had to feed, all because their policy was only to house orphans under 12.

But the promise of pockets to pick and abandoned food in trash cans from so many people gathered in one place had drawn her to the victory tour… It's been so long since she had a full meal or a place to sleep comfortably, and it's all Marek's fault… If he wouldn't have gotten himself killed, he surely wouldn't have let his parents kick her out. He would have stopped them…

But he's gone. Killed for an ally that just ended up dying anyways and continued to make sure District Nine doesn't get another victor anytime soon.

Sky pushes her way towards the edges of the crowd, wanting to run away quickly if she were to get caught stealing. But that won't happen. No one cares about the small unimposing girl left to live on the streets alone. She can't see either of the stages for the families or where the victor will be, but she doesn't want to see them. She refuses to look at the people who abandoned her, just like Marek.

When the anthem starts playing and Clark walks out on the stage, Sky uses it as her chance to find some pockets to pick and steal a little bit of money to help her eat for the next few days. With everyone distracted, it's too easy for her…or maybe she's just spent so much time doing this that she's gotten good at it.

But she freezes up when she hears Marek's name, not having heard it be spoken by anyone else in months. Against her will, her eyes find one of the nearby screens and focus on Clark as he gives a speech about the person he didn't know. No one knew Marek like Sky.

"Marek Hall was a brave and selfless person," Clark reads from the card in his hands, making Sky clench her fists and cause fresh wounds in her palms from her jagged nails, wounds that will probably get infected from all the dirt trapped under them. How dare he talk about Marek? How dare he pretend that he knew anything about the best person that Sky ever knew-

She tenses and her jaw drops open in shock when the cameras pan over to Marek's family, but his parents don't stand alone. No…a small girl stands with them, a girl who had years left of being in the orphanage. A girl Marek was always so fond of and gave special treatment to. But none of the other kids from the orphanage stand with his parents…

…They adopted Carolina?

Why would they do that? They never showed they cared about the kids in the orphanage. There's no fucking way they would have just adopted Carolina for no reason. Which means…

Sky starts pushing her way out of the crowd, needing to run and let out the deep rage inside of her towards Marek. How could he? How could he tell them to adopt Carolina but not her? He knew she was going to get kicked out of the orphanage in days! "Bastard!" Sky shouts up at the sky, hoping that wherever Marek is now he can see her and hear her. She hopes he knows how much she hates him for first leaving her all alone and now for completely abandoning her. "I hate you!"

Sky stops running next to a garbage can and reaches into her pocket, pulling out a beat up old playing card, ready to throw away the one thing she has left of the boy who had her trust and threw it all away. But she stares down at the Ace of Hearts card and can feel her eyes tearing up as his stupid voice enters her head against her will. She desperately tries to block out the memory, but she can't forget the memory of Marek giving it to her shortly after they met. She can picture the exact goofy grin he had on his face as he handed it to her and told her _'You're number one!'_

Except she's not… She was never number one to him. If she was, he never would have abandoned her.

She holds her hand out with the card over the garbage can, staring at the scars along her knuckles that always taunt her and remind her of the day she lost him. Tears fall down her cheeks from the rage in her at the boy she trusted with everything, just to get hurt over and over by him. Yet she can't bring herself to throw out the card. She can't get rid of the one thing she still has of him, even though he just keeps hurting her when he's not even here anymore.

"Damn it," she says before bringing back her hand and putting the card back into her pocket. Why is she so weak? Why can't she just let go of Marek? He never cared about her in the first place…he was the world to her, but she was just nothing to him…

"Hey kid, are you alright?"

Sky glares over in the direction of the voice, not trusting whoever it is calling over to her. "Do I look like I'm fucking alright?"

The woman hesitates as she stares over at Sky but unlike most people, she doesn't flinch away from Sky's angry look. "Do you have somewhere to stay? When was the last time you showered?"

"No and it doesn't matter," Sky scowls as she starts walking away from her, hoping she'll get the hint to leave her alone. She doesn't need the pity of some random person. But when she hears footsteps following after her, she turns back around to scream at her, "Leave me alone!"

The woman stops walking at this, surprised look on her face that shifts into concern for Sky. "If you need help, let me…"

"I don't need your pity," Sky angrily mutters back and turns around to keep walking away again. "You don't actually care… No one cares about me."

* * *

 _Agapios Wheatley Hallorian, Escort for District Nine_

Agapios is truly hoping that this year will be easier on himself and the mentors. He doesn't know if he can handle another year of watching the mentors be heartbroken by the loss of tributes that didn't deserve to die. And last year…last year was particularly hard on all of them. And with this being the year he will finally retire, well, he sure would like to end on a positive of another victor. If not, at least he has his friends among the victors he's gotten to know over so many years in District Nine.

With one final glance at his pocketwatch to verify that he's right on schedule with the Reaping – 1:05 exactly – he takes care walking over to the microphone, feeling his hips aching with his age. "Good afternoon, District Nine," Agapios says to the crowd, genuinely smiling out at the District that's become his second home all of these years. "As you all know, I'm Agapios Wheatley Hallorian. However, I'm afraid this will be my last year as your escort. I've grown old and it's time for someone half my age to take over as your escort. But I promise you, I will do everything I possibly can to make sure I bring you home one more victor."

Much to his surprise, he's met with applause from the crowd at his statement and it makes him tear up from feeling like they have truly accepted him here. It makes his heart hurt to know that he's leaving them, but it's well past time for him to retire and enjoy what life he has left. He's had too many years of pain from escorting. "Well, let's see who the final tributes will be that I am honored to escort for."

With a deep breath and a brief glance at his pocket watch to verify that they are still on schedule, Agapios heads towards the first of the glass spheres to pick the first tribute. He hesitates for a brief moment, wanting to make it count, before picking a name to prevent himself from getting off schedule. But his steps are still slow over to the microphone, aware that he is sending a child to go fight to the death. "Alright, the first tribute is…Davi Angustia."

Agapios waits for a moment before a girl starts to make her way up from the very front of the crowd. He gives her an encouraging smile when she hesitates at the stairs up to the stage and looks up at him. But halfway up the stairs she freezes up as a desperate voice calls out from the crowd. "I volunteer!"

Murmurs spread throw the crowd as Agapios stares out in surprise, not really expecting there to be a volunteer. District Nine so rarely has any volunteers… He turns back towards the victors and finds them looking just as surprised as he is, with Mazie giving a shrug of her shoulders but leaning forward at shouts from the crowd. Agapios turns back to find a young, ragged looking girl shoving her way forward, look of pure rage on her face as she stomps up to the stage. She's completely covered in grime and her clothes torn, only making Agapios grow concerned for her. "I don't need any help!" She yells at a Peacekeeper that steps near her as she keeps walking forward, but this only makes them put a hand defensively on their baton as they walk behind her. As she reaches the stage, her sharp angry glare cuts right through Agapios as she storms up to him and grabs the microphone away from him. "My name is Sky Odum and you bastards that killed Marek last year better watch the fu-"

Agapios snatches the microphone away from Sky before she can keep cursing on live television and she tries to reach back for it before two Peacekeepers step forward and pull her arms back and handcuff them, making her scream out in anger. But Agapios is frozen in his spot as he stares at her, unable to continue since her mention of Marek… "Did you know Marek?"

"Watch your tongue," one of the Peacekeepers tells the girl and Sky glares up at them before spitting in anger on the stage ground. When she turns back to Agapios, he can see the pure anger in the tiny girl as she nods her head at him.

Oh dear… Agapios glances back nervously at the mentors and finds Sativa watching Sky, her face contorted in pain from the memories filling himself at the mention of the kind boy that sacrificed himself last year for his District partner.

"Um…very well," Agapios says, clearing his throat to try and get the crowd to quiet down as they've grown restless from the mention of Marek. He glances down at his watch and starts growing anxious as he realizes he's close to falling behind schedule and nods his head curtly. "The other tribute," he says before walking as fast as his hips will allow him to over to the other glass sphere. With no hesitation, he reaches in a picks the first name his fingers brush up against and returns to the microphone. "Joining…Sky…is Eliot Eidner."

Agapios waits a few seconds until another thirteen year old steps forward from the crowd, but instead of rage like in Sky, there's only sadness in Eliot as he makes his way up to the stage. He is much more put together than Sky, but even his nice clothes look worn and show his family's lack of wealth. As he reaches the stage, Agapios can see that he's shaking as he looks around the crowd and Agapios puts a comforting hand on Eliot's shoulder. "It will be alright, we're going to help you out…" he tells Eliot quietly, getting a small nod from the terrified young boy who looks so much younger than his age.

Agapios turns his attention out to the crowd, wondering if there will be another volunteer… "Are there any other volunteers?" He asks, and much like with almost every year, he does not get a response.

He never anticipated anything like this happening his very last year as an escort…and he thinks he would rather have no volunteers than one very scared and one very angry thirteen year old. But, he has always rooted for the underdogs, and he certainly isn't going to stop this year…even if one might not even want his help, based on the glares she keeps sending him.

"Very well, District Nine," Agapios tells them, glancing around at the crowd and feeling a pang of sadness that this is the last time he'll be addressing them at a Reaping. "Our tributes this year are Sky Odum and Eliot Eidner…"

* * *

 _Sky Odum_

Sky is close to punching a wall in her anger as she keeps pacing around the room they placed her in, all too familiar to her from last year. All the memories she's tried so hard to lock deep down where they can't hurt her have come flooding in as she was forced to attend the Reaping, the event that ruined her life, leaving her with such a deep rage. But finally – _finally_ – she has a way to vent all of the rage that's been inside of her for the last year. She hadn't intended on volunteering. She's never wanted to go into the Hunger Games. But when she saw Agapios standing up on that stage, her rage somehow reached a level she didn't know was possible and she had to do something, _anything_.

And that something is killing every single career that volunteered and wants to be part of killing innocent people like Marek.

"I'll absolutely destroy the girl from District One since I can't kill Beryl," Sky mutters to herself as she keeps pacing angrily, not knowing what else to do in her allotted time to say goodbye. What else is she to do? She has no one that cares about her to say goodbye. Anyone that she stupidly put her trust in has either abandoned her or died. "I'll kill every last one of them for wanting to be part of this. They'll regret killing Marek-"

She's cut off by a knock on the door that leaves her frozen in her tracks. Who the hell would show up to see her? As much as her anger wants her to yell at whoever is there to go away, her curiosity gets the better of her, so she stays quiet.

Until the door opens and she sees who is there.

"No!" She shouts at Marek's parents, pointing a finger accusingly at them as they freeze in the doorway. "You don't get to care about me now that I'm going into the Games!"

"Sky, we've always cared about you," Marek's mother tries to tell her and Sky just lets out a humorless laugh.

"Yeah fucking right," Sky tells her, not believing a single word out of her mouth. "If you cared, you wouldn't have kicked me out _days_ after Marek died. You wouldn't have adopted Carolina instead of me, your son's best friend who loved him!"

Marek's parents share a look at this and with each growing second that she's forced to look at them, she's reminded of all the pain their family has caused her, all because she stupidly put her trust in them. "We adopted her because Marek asked us to…" his father finally speaks up, looking back over at Sky.

There it is…the confirmation to what she suspected for the last six months… She was nothing to Marek Hall.

"Get out!" She screams at them before moving towards the end table by the couch, ready to grab the lamp and throw it at them. "Leave me alone just like you've done before!"

"Sky, stop-" Marek's mother tries to say before the lamp slams into the wall next to her and she lets out a scream. Her husband quickly pulls her out of the room, sending a concerned look back at Sky over his shoulder as a Peacekeeper pushes past him.

"I hate you!" Sky screams at the top of her lungs at them as the Peacekeeper reaches her and puts handcuffs on her once more.

"Knock it off!" He tells her, forcing her to sit down on the couch. He stands in front of her for a few seconds, ignoring the glare she gives him as she breaths heavily in her rage. "If you cause any further trouble we're going to knock you out until you're on the train, got it?"

Sky digs her fingernails into the palms of her hands, forcing herself to remain quiet despite everything in her wanting to scream at him for being responsible for enforcing the system that got Marek killed. When he finally seems certain that she won't do anything else, he slowly leaves the room, locking the door behind him.

Sky keeps glaring at the door, feeling tears of anger starting to form from Marek's parents. They never should have stopped by to see her! She didn't need the confirmation that she knew in her heart: Marek Hall is a shitty person, despite everyone thinking the opposite, and Sky will never forgive him.

"Marek, if I die and see you again, first thing I'm doing is punching you in the face, you bastard."

* * *

 **Hi, who ordered this angst? Alright, big thanks to basicgay, david12341, and CelticGames4 for the angst - I mean, Eliot, Sky, and Agapios respectively lol. Eliot wasn't supposed to be angsty, but that's just what I end up doing lol, and Sky, is, well...Sky. But I had a lot of fun with these two, even if they made me very sad!**

 **Okay so usual stuff! Thoughts on these two? Did you think this Sky would be Marek's Sky and does this change your opinion on Marek?**

 **Alrighty, we're getting very close to wrapping up the Reapings! As we get closer to the end, if you think of any good alliance ideas, let me know! I'll hopefully see you again in two weeks for District Ten!**


	15. District 10: Family

**Chapter 11:**

 _District Ten_

 _Fox Durham, 18_

 _Three Years Before The Reaping_

"Fox!"

The boy looks around at the sound of his name being called, bringing his tractor to a stop right away, not knowing if someone is calling for him or yelling that there's a fox on the property. Last thing they need is for another fox to get in the chicken coup and kill a few birds. When Fox glances back over his shoulder, he finds his two sisters closest in age to him, both behind in their tractor race. But he finds Rita picking herself up from the ground, now covered in mud while the youngest of the ten siblings, Charlotte, is bent over in laughter. "What happened?"

"She cheated!" Rita yells as she starts stomping over to Charlotte with a fiery look in her eyes that makes Fox jump off of his tractor to stop them from getting in a fight. That's the last thing Fox wants to happen between his siblings, or really anyone for that matter. "She cut in front of me and made me have to turn quickly and I fell off!"

"Well I'm sure she didn't mean it," Fox tries to reason with Rita, wanting to believe little Charlotte wouldn't do something like that. "And if she did, well, she's just a little kid and maybe didn't have full control of the tractor."

"Hey!" Charlotte cries out in offense at this statement as Rita looks all smug about Fox seemingly taking her side. "I had full control and knew exactly what I was doing!"

"See!" Rita yells immediately, pointing a finger over at the younger girl accusingly. "I knew it! She just couldn't accept getting last place!"

Charlotte sticks her tongue out at Rita and Fox takes another step forward so that he stands between the two sisters, still a little worried that they might start fighting. "Okay, cheating like that wasn't right, Charlotte," Fox starts, getting a smug look from Rita as she crosses her arms. "But, we didn't have rules really about what you can and can't do," Fox continues, making Charlotte stick out her tongue once more at their older sister. "So Charlotte, apologize to Rita and we'll make a rule now about no cutting people off during our races."

Fox stares at his younger sister, giving her an encouraging smile in the hopes that she'll apologize to Rita. He knows she won't do it again as he trusts her to follow the rules. Charlotte stares down, kicking her toes into the dirt as she grumbles out her apology. "I'm sorry."

"What was that?" Rita asks smugly, putting a hand up to her ear. "I didn't quite catch that."

Charlotte brings up her gaze to glare at Rita. "I'm sor- Paloma!" She shouts, distracting all three of them from the argument. Well, mostly distracting Fox.

They all turn to look over towards the house and Fox immediately starts grinning when he sees his girlfriend walking over to him. "Okay, no more arguing today?"

"Fine," Rita grumbles, giving an annoyed look at their younger sibling before starting to stomp off towards the house so she can wash off the mud.

Charlotte giggles a little at her reaction and Fox struggles to bring his gaze away from his beautiful girlfriend walking over to him to look at his sister. "Alright Charlotte, why don't you go check on the cows?"

"But I want to talk to Paloma!" Charlotte whines, even stomping one of her feet in protest.

Fox puts a hand on her shoulder and gently pushes her in the direction of the barn. "Pal is staying for dinner so you can talk to her then, okay?"

"Okay!" Charlotte answers, no longer digging her feet into the ground to stop fighting against Fox pushing her away. As she starts walking towards the barn, she turns back towards his girlfriend and gives a big wave as she shouts over at her. "Hi Paloma! Fox is being mean and sending me away!"

"Fox being mean? I don't believe it," Paloma calls to Charlotte and Fox laughs a little at that, knowing she's completely right, but stops after a couple seconds as Paloma gets closer to him. He can immediately tell that something is wrong with his normally bubbly girlfriend.

Fox starts running over to her, closing the remaining distance between them. He tries to put his hands on her waist to pull her closer but she steps back, just out of reach from him. "Is…is everything okay? Did I…did I do something wrong? Because if I did something bad, I'm so very sorry and you know I didn't mean it."

"No, you didn't do anything," Paloma says quickly, lifting up her hand like she wants to take his before dropping it. She starts shaking her head up at him as tears fill her eyes and Fox doesn't care if she rejected his hug at first, he's going to hug his girlfriend when she's upset. As soon as Fox takes a step towards her, she falls into his chest and her hands clutch his shirt tightly as she starts sniffling. Fox can feel his own eyes prickling, always hating to see other people crying. He slowly rubs her back, knowing that's helped soothe her before when she's been upset. God, he hates seeing her like this and so badly wants to help her, yet he knows she'll tell him when she's ready. Finally, she lets out a sigh as she presses her head against his chest and he kisses the top of it. "At least…not right now. But I guess you did do something."

"Shit, I'm so sorry, Pal, you know I wouldn't do anything to hurt you," Fox pleads with her, barely able to keep his tears back at this point. "God, that's the last thing I would ever want to do."

"You didn't hurt me…I don't think," Paloma tries to step back from him but he keeps his arms around her, not letting her step completely away. Not when he can see the fear in her eyes. "I…" Paloma takes a shaky breath and shakes her head, struggling to find the words to say to him.

Fox can't bring himself to believe the worst is happening, knowing that Paloma wouldn't do that to him. Their relationship has been nothing but great, especially the last few months. "Whatever it is, you can tell me."

"I think…" Paloma starts as she starts crying and looks away from Fox. "I th-think I'm pregnant."

The world goes out of focus for Fox as he stares down at his girlfriend, unable to control his mouth dropping open in shock. Holy shit…she's pregnant?

"It's al-all my fault and you p-p-probably hate me now," Paloma starts talking quickly in-between sobs as Fox just keeps staring down at her in shock, trying to even process exactly what that will mean for them. "And you're going to leave me and I-I'll have to raise the kid on my own and-"

"What?" Fox snaps out of his stupor at that and shakes his head at Paloma. "Pal, do you really think I'm going to leave you for this? No way."

Paloma still tries to step back from him, even if her faces shows she wants to do the complete opposite. "But we're only fifteen… I can't raise a kid…"

"We," Fox corrects her, shaking his head that she would ever think that he would just abandon her like that. He's completely terrified at the responsibility but he got them into this situation in the first place and he's going to stick with her. Not like they have any option other than raising the kid, not with how little their families have. He could never give up the kid or leave Paloma… "It's me and you, Pal."

Paloma lets out something half between a sob and a laugh at that statement and finally steps towards Fox again. He holds onto her so tightly, trying to push down his own fear of raising a child. After all, his fear must be nothing compared to Paloma's right now. "Our parents are going to be so mad…"

"Mine won't," Fox answers confidently as he starts rubbing her back, still hating to see her crying, even if it's for something that will turn out good in the end. "We can be just like them! They had Dakota when my mom was only 16 too and look at them now! Ten kids later and still just as much in love! We can get married when we're 16 and you can join the family. They already love you so much and so do I."

"Fox…" Paloma says as she picks her head up from his chest to look up at him with wide eyes. He leans down and kisses her gently on the forehead, making her relax a little bit. "Did you just ask me to marry you?"

"I sure did," Fox responds, slowly grinning down at her as she stares at him in shock. "Why not? We're a team now and going to raise ten of our own little kids."

"I don't know if I can handle ten kids," Paloma answers with a laugh before she presses her face into Fox's chest as she lets out a sigh.

"Oh I would love a ton of kids," Fox answers, slowly starting to smile as he starts imagining a whole house full of little kids running around that look like mini Paloma's. "I know you're scared right now – I am too – but Pal…I think this is going to be the best thing that could have happened to us."

"I'm so scared…" Paloma says quietly and the tears that had been stopping come back in full force. "What if we're bad parents?"

"We won't be," Fox answers confidently. "We have my whole family to help out and so many of them have had kids. And if we make mistakes, we use them to learn! We can do this. Together."

"Together," Paloma whispers back to him as she rests her head back down on his chest. She wraps her arms around him and sighs as they stand there in silence for a few seconds. "Yes."

"Yes what?" Fox asks her in confusion.

Paloma turns her head so she can grin up at him, "Yes I'll marry you."

* * *

 _Two Months Before The Reaping_

Fox lets out a sigh of relief as he steps into the house and kicks off his boots, so happy to be back home. All he wants right now is a nice bath to wash away the sweat and hay from the day. The job isn't bad for the majority of the year, but once it starts heating up, hauling bales of hay around for cows becomes quite the task. But it's going to be so worth the long hours. Give it a few months more and he'll have enough money saved up for his family to move into their own house. The only downside to the long hours is missing out on-

"Daddy!"

Fox immediately starts grinning as he hears tiny patters of footsteps running over to him. He crouches down as his son rounds the corner and races right over to him, hugging him immediately. "Maddox!"

Fox picks his son up and as he stands up, he tosses him a little in the air, getting a small giggle out of the boy. Fox can't help but feel his heart melt every time he looks at his son that looks so much like Paloma, except for the full head of dark curly hair Maddox got from him. "Daddy can we ride Milly?"

"That depends," Fox tells him as he kisses the top of his head before putting him on his hip. They start walking over to the kitchen where he can hear Paloma helping out with cooking dinner. "Were you a good boy today?"

"Yes!" Maddox answers immediately, giggling a bunch as he leans his head against Fox's shoulder, knowing exactly how to get his father to do anything he wants.

"I don't know," Fox teases as he enters the kitchen. His wife looks up from cutting up some potatoes and smiles over at Fox as he walks over to give her a kiss on the check. "We have to ask Mommy if you were really a good boy today."

Paloma chuckles at this as she sets down her knife so she can ruffle Maddox's hair. "Hmm, I don't know, he did distract me a lot today."

"No, no, I helped!" Maddox tells her and he starts squirming in Fox's arms so he can look out the window. "Milly!"

"He wants to ride Milly," Fox tells Paloma as his arms ache as he holds Maddox, thanks to the day of work, but he'll never complain. Maddox is the best thing to happen to him in his life. Well, maybe second to Paloma, but just barely second.

"Of course," Paloma says with a chuckle and a smile at their son. "He was asking me all day when Daddy would be home. Hmm," Paloma says as she leans over to Maddox and gently boops him on the nose. "I think he was good enough today to ride Milly."

"Milly! Milly!" Maddox starts chanting and claps his hands in excitement.

Fox laughs at his reaction, just so damn happy whenever he's around Maddox. "Okay, let's go see Milly."

"Yay!" Maddox cries loudly and continues to chant the name as Fox starts walking over to the back door.

"Hey Fox?" Paloma calls out to him and he stops with his hand on the doorknob to look back at her. He immediately grows concerned when he sees her nervously picking at the seam of her apron and hesitating to meet his gaze. "I'll be out in a few minutes, I need to talk to you."

"We can talk now," Fox immediately responds and turns back around to face her. If something is wrong with her, he wants to fix it right now.

Paloma smiles at his reaction and shakes her head at him. "It can wait a few minutes. Go play with your son."

Fox stares at her for a few more seconds, wanting to make sure his wife is sure about this. But when Maddox starts tugging on his shirt and starts talking to him, well, he gives in right away. "Daddy, Milly!"

"Okay, okay," Fox laughs as he opens the door and starts walking outside towards the pasture with a very happy Maddox. "Let's go find Milly. So what did you do today?"

"Aunt Care played with me!" Maddox answers happily as they walk across the lawn and Fox grins like always at Maddox's name for his sister Charlotte since the little boy hasn't figured out yet how to pronounce her name. "We played with bugs!"

"Oh I'm sure Mommy loved that," Fox answers as he carefully opens up the door into the pasture with one hand and locks it up behind them.

Maddox laughs a bunch and Fox looks down at him, "I put a Mr. Wormy in her pocket."

"Maddox!" Fox scolds but the boy just laughs so much at this that there's no way he could possibly be mad at his son. And he's only two, after all. Fox was causing a lot more trouble than Maddox has until he was five. "What did Mommy do?"

"She loved Mr. Wormy!" Maddox tells him, but Fox knows his wife. She probably screamed in surprise when she reached in and felt a worm. But also he knows the reaction would have been funny to see. "Milly!"

Fox smiles over at the old cow of theirs that Maddox loves so much. "Yes, there's Milly," Fox tells him as they get closer to her. The gentle girl picks up her head from eating grass as they approach and lets out a long moo that Maddox repeats at her. Fox gently pets the cow's head, getting a bit of a head butt from her in response. "Hey girl, how are you doing today?"

Milly shuts her eyes as Fox scratches behind one of her ears and he lightly smiles at the cow that he raised all on his own from birth. "Alright Milly, toddler incoming!" Fox says as he picks up his very happy son and gently sets Maddox down on the cow's shoulders. Maddox pats her neck – well, more smacks her neck – as Fox holds onto the boy to keep him from falling off. Maddox even leans down so he can hug the cow.

Right now is one of the moments when Fox wishes he could afford a camera. He would love to have this moment frozen in time to look at years from now when Maddox is all grown up and can no longer ride Milly, or the sad day when Milly is gone. But he'll always have the memories and that's enough for him.

They stay out there for a while, just letting Maddox sit on Milly as she lazily wanders around and eats grass. Maddox doesn't care that she isn't moving much, just happily singing a song at the top of his lungs about cows that makes no sense to Fox, but it's just adorable. Eventually Fox hears the gate open and glances back to see Paloma walking over to him, looking a little nervous but mostly proud as she stares at him and Maddox. "Hey Pal," he says gently as she stops next to him. He puts one arm around her and she leans up against him as he kisses the top of her head.

"He was a lot today," she sighs but doesn't sound upset by this. At least, she won't bring up being upset in front of Maddox.

"He is only two," Fox tells her, knowing that probably the most challenging years are yet to come.

"I know…" Paloma responds and they stand in comfortable silence for a few minutes, just watching their son. Fox didn't think the moment could have gotten better, but it did by having his wife with him now. "Hey Fox…what do you think about having another one?"

"Oh I would love to have another," Fox answers immediately, already having known this for years. "The more kids, the merrier. Why, are you thinking you want to try and have another kid?"

"Well…" Paloma hesitantly says to him and he turns to look down at her.

"Pal, you can tell me if that's not what you want," Fox tells her, just wanting to see her happy more than himself. He would love to have more kids but if that's not what Paloma wants, then he's more than happy to just have Maddox. His son has already been a blessing. "I promise you won't upset me if that's what you want. You're the one that has to carry them."

Paloma is quiet again and he just leaves her be, knowing she'll respond when she's ready to. And after over three years of being together, he knows she'll be honest with him, even if she's afraid. "I think I already am."

Fox immediately turns to look over at Paloma at this, barely remembering to keep a hold on Maddox. "You're joking."

Paloma shakes her head at this but gives a shrug at him. "I haven't gotten my period in two months."

Fox slowly starts to grin at her and lets go of her for a moment to pick up Maddox and set him down on the ground, which he protests a lot but he can't even be upset at him. Not after getting the best news from Paloma. "Pal this is amazing!" He picks her up from the ground, swinging her around and getting a little bit of a laugh from her, but he can tell she's not as excited yet as him. He gently sets her down so he can put his hands on her flat stomach, already so excited to see her stomach slowly start to grow again with a baby. "You're going to be a great mother to this little baby, just like you're already a great mother to Maddox. So don't worry, Pal. Plus we're adults now and I'm going to buy us our own house to live in."

"We still have one more Reaping…" Paloma whispers to him, her fear making her voice crack.

"We've made it through six so far, we'll make it through one last Reaping," Fox reassures her, unable to be worried at all. How could he be when he just got the best news? He hugs her once more, being careful not to hold her too tightly around her stomach. "Oh Pal, this is amazing. I'm so happy this is our life."

* * *

 _Genesis Barrett, 17_

 _One Month Before The Reaping_

One wouldn't think that there would be much need to chop up a ton of firewood at the beginning of summer in the southernmost District of Panem. And for most people in the District, the would only need a few small pieces to fuel their wood fire stoves, if at all. But not for Genesis' family. When you have over a dozen people to feed, you need as much fire wood as possible. And today wasn't just any day, today is her father's birthday, meaning all her older half-siblings and their families will be returning to the farmstead for a dinner. After all, it's his bloodline that will survive after the world gets destroyed. Everyone is expected to join for his birthday dinner.

But Genesis doesn't mind her role. As the oldest sibling from her mother, it's been expected from her at a young age to help with all of her many younger siblings. Everyone has their place in the farmstead to ensure everything runs smoothly and so they can live almost entirely on their own and minimize their dependency on the Capitol. That's how it's always been and Genesis can't see it being any other way.

Cutting the wood for her family has never been a problem for Genesis. When she was given the task at the age of eleven, she adapted it to her daily routine and never looked back. Such is her life. Now she's come to enjoy the task, with it providing a small reprieve from all the noise and chaos of her large family.

But the past couple days have disrupted this routine as they prepared for her father's birthday and all the mouths to feed. Genesis had to recruit her sister Justice to help and she has regretted the choice every time they have gone out.

"I just don't get why _we_ have to be the ones cutting up the wood!" Justice whines once more and Genesis pauses from swinging her axe to purse her lips and hold her tongue. She so badly has wanted to tell off the girl for days now to get her to stop complaining, but that won't get her anywhere. If anything, it will just make Justice run off for a fourteenth time. "Like why can't some of the older boys do this? They're stronger than us."

"Because they have their own families to get ready for today," Genesis reminds her calmly, returning back to cutting up a log. She picks up one of the pieces and puts it in Justice's arms on top of two other pieces. "This is my task and it's also yours for a few days. The sooner you accept it, the easier it will be. If you were more responsible, you could be helping Faith get our siblings ready."

"This is stupid!" Justice yells as Genesis goes to pick up her other piece of wood and she glances up in time to see her sister throw all the firewood in her arms onto the ground. "I'm not helping anymore!"

"Pick up that wood right now," Genesis scolds her before looking around, checking that none of their half-siblings are around. The last thing she needs is for one of them to see this and think Genesis doesn't know how to keep control of her younger siblings. Justice starts crossing her arms and scowling at Genesis with as much anger as the thirteen year old can muster, and Genesis points down at the wood. "Now, Justice. The sooner you accept this is your life, the easier it all is."

"I hate this life!" Justice screams at her before turning around and starting to stomp away from the house.

"Justice!" Genesis calls after her sister and gets no response. She sighs to herself before quickly organizing the wood Justice dropped into a pile before following after her, axe still in hand to stop any of the younger siblings from finding it unattended and hurting themselves. "Come back here!"

"Leave me alone!" Justice calls back over her shoulder and when she sees Genesis following after her, she starts running across the property.

"Justice!" Genesis screams as she starts running after her sister, clutching the axe very carefully so she doesn't hurt herself. She can't stop looking around as she chases her sister, worried that someone is going to see them and judge Genesis as being completely unable to care for her siblings and set an example. "Stop it right this second!" Yet Justice keeps running, her little kid energy making her much faster than Genesis, and the older girl lets out a huff of annoyance to herself at this situation.

They're getting close to one of the houses on the farmstead when exactly that happens. "What are you two doing? And why the hell are you chasing her with an axe?!"

Genesis digs her feet into the ground immediately to face whoever it was that yelled at them. Justice is much slower to stop running, looking a bit sheepish as she faces the one wife that Genesis can't bring herself to call mother due to her age. "Nothing, Mother Dara," Justice mumbles as she kicks her toes into the dirt and refuses to look at her.

Genesis looks down at the axe in her hands before moving to holding it behind her back so it's not as obvious that she was just chasing her younger sister around with an axe. "It looks worse than it was," Genesis starts carefully, choosing her words carefully, even if she knows Dara isn't going to tell anyone.

Dara chuckles a little as she shifts the one year old to her other hip. "Yeah? Do tell, I'm very curious about this story."

Genesis walks over to Justice and puts a hand on her sister's shoulder, lightly pushing her over towards Dara as for some reason, Dara is the only one she respects and will listen to. Genesis is very grateful that the one person to see them was the person she considers her friend, but that doesn't stop her from wanting to keep up a good impression with her. "Justice thought that cutting up wood to help with cooking the meals was stupid and ran off. So I followed after her and brought the axe with me to stop any of the younger kids from finding it on accident and hurting themselves."

"Is that so?" Dara asks her and Genesis nods her head as she glances away from her, unable to read whatever emotion she's feeling right now. "Come on, Justice, you can help watch Grace while I bathe."

"Yes, Mother Dara," Justice responds quietly and starts walking over towards the house, refusing to look back at Genesis.

Genesis shakes her head at her younger sister, understanding why Justice is acting the way she is. Genesis was like her too at one point, questioning _why_ they had to do these chores and live all together. But she learned to just accept it and life became a lot easier once she embraced her role in the family. Justice will get there eventually. "Sorry for bothering you," Genesis apologizes to Dara, still struggling to make eye contact with her friend.

"It's alright," Dara responds and Genesis glances over to see a small smile on her face. "Children, am I right?"

"I suppose," Genesis shrugs her shoulders, not wanting to blame Justice for it out loud. But she sure is blaming Justice internally for causing her to look bad in front of the others and now have to do extra work on her own. She glances down at her watch and then back in the direction she ran from. "I need to get back to work or we won't have enough wood to cook with. Are you sure you're fine watching Justice?"

"Of course," Dara responds immediately and Genesis nods her head at her before turning around and starting to walk back to the pile of wood she abandoned. "See you in a bit to cook dinner!"

Genesis lets a brief grimace pass over her face since no one can see it before clearly her expression. She hasn't been looking forward to that all day. Not because she doesn't like cooking and helping out, quite the opposite. But she doesn't know how she's supposed to hold up a conversation with all the other eldest siblings helping out their mother's.

Well, at least she can stay quiet and say she's focusing on her work. No one will question that or know that she's actually thinking up a plan she'll never actually implement to get back at her sister for this.

* * *

Genesis keeps subtly glancing down at the farthest end of the table as she helps bring out the many platters of food, all stuff grown on their farmstead. She knows where she'll have to sit, the same spot she always has to sit at dinner time, closest to their mothers since she's the eldest sibling. But with everyone gathered tonight for dinner, she'll be with her half-siblings much older than her that she'll struggle to talk with. She's never been able to connect to the people over ten years older than her, always struggling to read the tone of their voice or their facial expressions, resulting in her growing worried that she's going to misinterpret something and say something wrong, making herself look bad in the process.

She would much rather be sitting at the end of the table with all of the other younger siblings. Children are just so much easier to handle and upfront about their emotions and will tell you exactly how they feel.

"That doesn't go there."

Genesis stops at the stern voice and keeps her gaze down as she turns to face the woman that runs the entire household. "Yes, Mother Sylvia, I'm sorry. Where should it go instead?"

Mother Sylvia looks at the bowl of carrots in Genesis' hands that she was about to place in the middle of the table before pointing at the far end. "Put it by the youngest, they need the vegetables."

"Of course, Mother Sylvia," Genesis says with a nod of her head before moving to put the bowl in the proper spot, walking with her shoulders back and head high to look like the proper young lady Mother Sylvia has raised her to be. She's the woman she's always had to work the hardest to impress.

Once the bowl is set down, she glances back up at her before turning to look back at the mostly set table, the remaining dishes being brought out by her eldest half-siblings. But the look she briefly sees on Mother Sylvia's face makes her think for a second that she's proud, before making herself confused because when has Mother Sylvia ever been proud of her? "That will be all from you, your siblings have the rest. Sit."

"Yes, Mother," Genesis dutifully answers before taking her designated seat at the table as the last dishes are set down.

Mother Sylvia carefully examines the table before looking over at her child still living on the farmstead. "Ring the dinner bell, Freedom."

With a nod, the boy a few years older than Genesis goes to the bell standing near the table and gives it three loud rings. As he returns to the table and takes his spot next to Genesis – given thanks to being oldest still at the farmstead, but still farther than her from their father since he's not the eldest of his siblings – a large group of people start wandering out of the houses and towards the dinner table. They all take their seats in organized chaos, knowing _where_ they're supposed to sit, yet everyone getting in each other's way. Mother Sylvia watches over all of them, standing behind one of the two spots at the head of the table. Once they're all sitting, she puts her fingers up to her mouth and gives a high pitched whistle that Genesis winces at but makes everyone fall quiet.

Mother Sylvia takes her seat as Father walks out of the main house, a similar expression on his face as he looks out at his large family as Mother Sylvia gave Genesis. As his gaze passes over Genesis, she glances away from him and down to her plate, not comfortable with making eye contact with the man she barely knows. When he reaches the table, she glances back at him, as is expected from her as the eldest daughter from Mother Willa. But she keeps her gaze focused on his shoulder, rather than his eyes as he smiles out at all of them.

"Before dinner, I'd like to say a few words," Father starts, his voice easily carrying over to the several dozen people gather tonight, all related to him by blood or marriage. "First, we need to say thanks to the ability to sustain our family here on our farmstead instead of relying on the corrupted Capitol for food and supplies. Thank you to Sylvia for managing all of this and delegating tasks to everyone. Our life free from the Capitol would not be possible without every single person working to do their part."

Genesis purses her lips, fighting back the urge to look back at Justice and give her a look of 'I told you so'. However, that would not be the proper thing for her to do and she has to set an example in front of all of her siblings. But oh does she so badly want to tell her off later. She hardly focuses on her father as he keeps talking about their family all being there tonight, thinking of a plan in her head for how she can tell Justice how she was right. It would be so great, yet she knows she won't ever actually go through with it. Even just telling Justice that gives the chance for someone else to find out. And rumors spread way too quickly when you're living with this many people around. It would only be a matter of time until Mother Sylvia found out and Genesis has not gotten her wrists smacked in years for being out of line. She doesn't plan on starting that again.

She brings her attention back to her father when she hears her name spoken and gives him a polite smile as he thanks the eldest children for their contributions. "Genesis, thank you for providing the firewood for all of us and helping with the cooking. We appreciate you-"

He's cut off by an alarm blaring across the farmstead that makes many of them look around in mixes of confusion and fear. Genesis makes eye contact with her mother and even she can recognize the total fear in her gaze. She quickly looks away towards her father to know if this is a drill or if they are actually under attack from Capitol mutts. He watches them with a smug smile and calls out to them as he starts walking back to the main house. "You know what to do!"

Genesis still isn't completely sure if this is a drill organized by her father or not, but she does not want to take the risk if it is real or get in trouble if she ignores the drill. No one has burst out into screams of panic or started running frantically at the alarm, having practiced the scenario of the Capitol bringing out the end of the world by mutts or disease numerous times. Mother Sylvia stands up and starts barking commands at all of them as the three other wives stand up and start gathering up their youngest children.

"Freedom, Tomer, Genesis, help your mothers," Mother Sylvia commands them and Genesis stands up immediately, following Mother Willa over to her seven full siblings. By time the two of them reach them, Faith has already started to gather them from the table, taking their youngest brother Joy into her arms and motioning the three youngest children over to Mother Willa.

Genesis goes towards the two sisters next oldest after Faith, knowing it's her job to make sure the eldest siblings are cared for. Justice has her arms crossed as Genesis puts a hand on her shoulder, but doesn't protest as Genesis starts pushing her towards their house. She grabs onto Harmony's hand to bring her with her, but the eleven year old pulls her hand away from her, face full of fear as she looks around at the sirens blaring. "It's okay, Harmony, we're just going to go to the house and go into the safe room." Genesis gives the girl what she hopes is a reassuring smile and holds out her hand again. "Come on, come with me."

But instead of taking her hand, the scared girl starts running away and Mother Willa shrieks her name. Genesis looks around at the people around her, knowing someone needs to get Harmony before she gets too far away and is in danger. But when no one starts moving, Genesis starts sprinting after the girl, making her mother shriek her name this time. But she ignores her, knowing it's her task to watch Harmony and Justice, and she is not going to get in trouble for not following her instructions.

Genesis is so thankful for the summer causing later sunsets and allowing her enough light to see Harmony as she gets close to the edge of the forest. But she knows the young girl and she's nimble enough to scale any of the trees lining the property and if that happens, Genesis will never catch her. She forces her legs to move even faster, allowing her to catch up to Harmony just at the tree line.

She grabs onto Harmony's hand and the girl lets out a squeak of fear as she turns around to face Genesis. The older girl holds onto Harmony tightly, not letting up even when the younger girl whimpers from her grip. She won't lose her again. "Don't you dare run again," Genesis scolds her and when Harmony glances around, she hefts the girl up onto her shoulder, straining under her weight but still holding onto her tightly so she doesn't slip away as she starts jogging back to the house.

As she jogs, Genesis finds herself thanking Mother Sylvia in her head for forcing her to start cutting firewood all those years ago, otherwise she would never have the upper body strength for this. When they get closer to their house, light pours out of the open door, partially blocked by their mother standing in the doorway, hand over her chest. "Oh thank goodness you're both safe! Quickly, inside!" She shouts at them and Genesis does her best to force her legs to keep moving.

Mother Willa steps out of the way for Genesis to run into the house before slamming the door shut and setting the numerous locks into place. Genesis doesn't set Harmony down yet, even as her arms scream at her and her legs burn from the running. Not until she has done her job and gotten her safely in the safe room.

When Genesis enters the room, Faith lets out a squeal of relief and jumps up to hug Genesis as she sets down Harmony. "You're both safe!"

"Yes," Genesis responds as she turns to Harmony, simultaneously wanting to scold her and make sure that she's okay.

But before she can say anything, Mother Willa steps forward and puts her hands on Harmony's shoulders as she looks at Genesis. "Your job is done, just keep them busy."

"Yes, Mother," she responds obediently, even if right now entertaining the youngest is not what she wants to do. But she's not Justice and she does what she's told.

So she settles down with the youngest children, playing with them as the alarm continues to sound, muffled by the walls of the house. She can't tell how much time passes before the alarm shuts off and she looks around with the others. But they don't move to leave the room yet, and won't until her father stops by to tell them that it's safe.

Another twenty minutes pass until there's the coded knock on the door and Mother Willa sighs in relief as she quickly opens up the door to reveal their father. He steps into the room and looks around at all of them. "Good job, everyone. While tonight was just a drill, you all did what you would need to if the Capitol was really attacking us." Genesis turns her eyes down at this, knowing she didn't do _exactly_ what she was supposed to do…but it wasn't her fault that Harmony ran away… "Genesis, can I speak with you please?"

Genesis nods her head dutifully as she keeps her head down, afraid that she's about to get in trouble for what she did tonight. She was just trying to save her sister… "Yes, Father," she says and follows him out of the room, still keeping her gaze trained on the floor.

She nearly runs into him when he comes to a stop and turns around to face her. She barely glances up at him for a second but when she has no clue what he's thinking, she turns her gaze back down to the ground. "I heard you ran after Harmony and brought her back."

Genesis nods her head slowly at this, having no clue if she's in trouble for doing that. She just wanted to do her job and keep her sister safe… But if she did the wrong thing, she knows it's best to apologize to him now and let him know she recognizes it was a mistake. "Yes, Father… I'm sorry if that was wrong."

"Wrong?" He questions and she briefly glances back up at him again before looking back down once more. "No, it was the right decision. You acted immediately to protect the bloodline from the Capitol threat." He puts a hand on her shoulder suddenly and she tenses up immediately as he pats it a couple times before removing it. "You did well."

"Thank…you, Father," Genesis hesitantly answers, not knowing him well enough to know if he is happy with her.

"Keep it up," he says before turning around and leaving, letting her know the conversation is done.

Genesis watches him leave, waiting until the front door is shut behind him before releasing the tension in her shoulders and letting out a sigh. She doesn't know how she's supposed to feel right now. Relieved? Proud? Angry at Harmony for running? All of the above?

But one feeling she knows for sure is that she's hungry and wondering when they will get to have their dinner that they abandoned.

* * *

 _Icarus Clo, Escort for District Ten_

Icarus had thought he got over being a little salty that they didn't ask him if he would like to move up to a new District instead of putting young people up higher. But being back in District Ten and struggling _again_ to get the microphone up to an appropriate height for him, it just reminded him that he's been stuck here his entire career.

"District Ten, you never disappoint," Icarus says passive aggressively as he keeps struggling to raise the microphone before finally getting it set with a screech over the sound system. "Well then," he says with a cringe at the noise before straightening out his tweed jacket that was all the rage last year. As he stares out at the crowd of scared children, he hopes for a brief moment that there won't be any issues once more with the cameras… Maybe that was the reason they didn't promote him. Surely it's not from his lack of trying to get a victor. "As you know from me being here for over twenty years, I'm Icarus Clo and it's time to find out who our tributes will be for the Sixth Quarter Quell."

Icarus walks with confidence across the stage, none of that fake confidence that the younger escorts have but the confidence of someone that has been at this job for decades. He takes his time assessing the pieces of papers in the glass bowl, wondering what kind of tributes he'll pick this year. He would love to rub it in Flannery's face that he picked the Quell victor after she got the last one. And he totally doesn't want to brag for the fact that the escort dumped him after their short fling. Nope, not at all… He certainly would like a fighter like Nyra last year, but not someone who ends up going off the deep end from the pressure of the Games. And he certainly wouldn't like another twelve year old like Cutter. Well…only one way to find out and that's to pick them.

Icarus chooses his name and returns to the microphone only to find that it slowly slid down while he was away from it. He struggles for a few seconds with it before just sighing and leaning down to speak into it. "Our first tribute is Genesis Barrett."

The escort waits for a few seconds to see where the tribute will emerge from in the crowd and has to hold back a bit of excitement that he's picking an older tribute when the girl steps out from the seventeen year olds. She doesn't immediately scream 'I'm a threat!' but Icarus supposes neither did Nyra last year. But at least she's not crying, keeping her face a frozen mask and all emotions locked up as she approaches the stage.

As she approaches Icarus, he can tell that while she's a bit scrawny, she at least has some strength when he holds out his hand to her and she shakes it firmly. "Welcome, Genesis," he tells her with a smile, ready to start working with her to give her the best shot at victory. But before he fully commits to her, he turns back out to the crowd. "Are there any volunteers?"

In the shocker of the century, there are no volunteers. Icarus holds back his lack of surprise on his face as he looks out at the crowd standing still. "Well we'll see if there are any volunteers for the other tribute," Icarus tells them, still having to hunch over the microphone to speak to them. He goes to pick the other name, once more contemplating the slips as if he can see through them to figure out exactly which name will give him a strong tribute.

He finally settles on one and returns to the microphone that has slid even farther down. "Alright," he starts, trying to lean down to speak but feeling his back start aching already. He struggles to raise it back up for a few seconds before finally giving up and just picking up the entire microphone stand, getting a few snickers from the crowd. "The second tribute is Fox Durham."

Movement starts in the section of the oldest tributes and Icarus starts to grin at his choice, but his smile immediately disappears at yelling from outside the area of eligible children. "I volunteer! Take me instead of him!"

Fox stops between the section and the stage, looking back at the crowd with wide eyes. Suddenly a man not much older than Fox and looking similar to him starts running towards the stage and Fox, only to get stopped almost immediately by Peacekeepers. "Take me instead! It's a Quell, anyone should be able to volunteer!"

"I'm afraid that's not how it works…" Icarus tells the man, frowning a bit by the display from him. Fox watches the Peacekeepers take away his older brother for a few seconds before a Peacekeeper steps up and takes his arm, leading him the rest of the way up onto the stage. The scrawny looking guy is barely holding back his tears as he is brought next to Icarus and the escort puts a hand on his shoulder, only making him sniffle a bit. "Well…are there any volunteers that are actually eligible?"

No one steps forward for Fox, just like with Genesis. Fox clears his throat and tries to stand up straighter as he stares straight ahead at the crowd. Icarus looks at both of his tributes this year, just feeling good about both of them. There's just something to both of them that has him feeling confident he can guide one of them towards victory. He'll give them both the best shot.

And then hopefully he can rub it in Flannery's face when he has the victor.

"Alright District Ten, we have our tributes for the Sixth Quarter Quell: Genesis Barrett and Fox Durham!"

* * *

 **Here we go, our second to last pair of tributes! Big thanks as always to paperairline, Golden Moon Huntress, and misfit-right-in for Fox, Genesis, and Icarus respectively! These two were a blast to write!**

 **Well, this chapter ended up longer than intended but uh, that's what happens when you have two tributes with very large families lol. I was also going to wait another week with this chapter but I have about zero impulse control and want to get to the Wayward bloodbath asap. So here we are, only one intro chapter left! And I'm excited because I actually have that chapter finished already! So expect that update in a somewhat timely manner.**

 **Thoughts on these two? And since we're nearly done with intros, any alliance ideas? I already have them figured out but I'm curious if anyone will guess some of them!**

 **Alright I will see you probably in 2-3 weeks with the last intro! We are nearly there! :D**


	16. District 11: Listen My Children

**Chapter 12:**

 _District Eleven_

 _Arthur Bramble, 17_

 _One Year and Ten Months Before The Reaping_

"Arthur, we got a call!"

Arthur jumps up immediately from his spot at the counter of their family run shop as he hears his father's footsteps racing down the stairs towards him. He just throws his whittling tools into his pockets without thinking about the knife being in his pocket, all too focused on whatever his father just heard a call about. "What is it?" Arthur asks as his father runs towards the back room where they keep their personal supplies and he follows him in.

"House fire," his father says as he starts putting on his protective fire gear and Arthur follows his actions, knowing his father is going to need everyone's help on this mission. "Three kids, two grandparents. Accidental fire from a candle getting knocked over. Only three blocks away, thankfully, neighbors to the Perkinsons. They called right away but we don't have much time." Despite the time crunch, his father takes a moment to stare at Arthur as he puts on his own gear, giving him a proud smile that Arthur quickly returns. "Stay safe, okay? You're still only fifteen."

"I'll follow your lead, Dad," Arthur answers him as he zips up the fireproof jacket. He gives it a solid pat, reassuring himself that he's all protected. "Is the team called?"

"Already on their way there," his father responds as he starts leading the way out of their survival gear shop. He just runs out the door, calling back to Arthur when he stops to lock it up, "No time! We have to trust our neighbors not to steal."

"Right," Arthur nods his head as he starts sprinting after his father, the pair of them racing through the streets to get over to the house fire. He knows the people owning shops surrounding theirs all respect his father and admire him for his work, something Arthur can relate to. This isn't the first time they've had to run out like this and Arthur suspects that it won't be the last, and they haven't had any issues yet. And what's a few stolen goods compared to a few seconds that could save a life?

As they get past the first block, Arthur can start seeing smoke rising and their pace quickens. Arthur can't see his father's face as they get closer, but he knows his father must be concerned by the way his shoulders are hunched down as he runs as fast as he can. So Arthur does the same, ignoring his lungs burning for air and the slight burn starting in his legs. But he can feel adrenaline starting to pump through him, also making his heart rate start increasing.

They round a street corner and start to slow down as they approach the burning house, finding people gathered around in front of it. "Let us through!" His father yells to be heard above the crackling of the fire and panicked cries of the people gathered. They all move out of his way, recognizing his booming voice, a few even crying out in relief that Josef Bramble has arrived.

The second-in-command of their rescue team runs out of the house carrying a small child coughing from the smoke. He spots them and moves towards them right away and Arthur finds himself looking towards his father for guidance as he tries to keep his breathing slow. One of the biggest lessons his father has taught him is to not let the adrenaline break his focus and he certainly needs it now. "Gregor, who's still in there?"

"One of the kids and both grandparents," Gregor answers as he passes the child over to another one of the crew so they can get taken for medical help. "They-"

Gregor hunches over in a coughing fit from the smoke and Josef pats him on the back. "Good work, we'll get the rest." He turns to Arthur and a couple seconds pass as he stares down at his son, seemingly deciding if he should bring him in with him. Arthur stands up straight, wanting his father to know he's ready for this. He wants to help rescue them. "Arthur, let's go."

Arthur nods his head and they jog over to the burning house and Arthur can feel the heat radiating off it from ten feet away. "Keep your head down and don't touch anything metal," his father warns him before they step inside the house and Arthur is blasted with hot air and smoke, making him start coughing immediately.

His father crouches down and Arthur does the same, holding up a sleeve to his mouth to try not to breathe in so much of the billowing black smoke that's quickly filling the small house. "Help!" They hear someone cry out before coughing and they navigate as quickly as they can around the flames engulfing the old wooden house towards the sound of a young boy crying. Arthur's lungs burn with each breath and he can barely hold back his own coughs, yet his father keeps pushing ahead, reminding Arthur that he can't quit. Not when there are two lives at risk.

They reach a closed door and his father looks at it for a brief second, holding back coughs before kicking right near the lock. The hinges quickly break off and the door falls to the ground, causing a burst of hot air and smoke to hit their faces. Arthur cries out from the heat and has to step towards his father as he feels the heat of a flame on his leg.

Despite everything, his father doesn't hesitate and runs into the bedroom to find a young boy coughing as he tries to move a fallen log off of his grandfather's leg. "Arthur, get him out!" His father yells at him as he starts pushing on the log, barely making any progress. Arthur hesitates for a moment, wanting to help out his father because he knows he needs it. His father looks up at him, sweat dripping down his face as he strains against the weight, "Go!"

Arthur nods his head, having to trust his father to make it out of their safely. After all, his father is the captain of their rescue team. He wouldn't be in that position if he couldn't make the right calls to save people. "Let's go," Arthur tells the boy as he steps forward to pick him up.

"No!" He yells out, clutching his grandfather's hand as tears leave clean streaks down his face covered in soot.

"Arbor, go with him, I'll be fine," the old man tells him as Arthur picks up the boy, trying to ignore him crying out as Arthur starts carrying him out of the room.

"Arbor, I need you to trust me," Arthur tells the boy, holding him tightly as he ducks down, trying to see in the house as it grows even darker with smoke. "If there's anyone who will get your grandfather out alive, it's my father. He can do anything." Arbor starts coughing as Arthur pauses, trying to find the best way to make it through the blaze. He knows he shouldn't be hesitating, but he's a bit afraid of the growing blaze. But Arbor presses his head against his neck, coughing away and he knows he has to take action. It's what his father would do. "And I'm going to get you out of here."

Arthur starts jogging in the path he thinks was to the front door, stopping several times as his lungs struggle to take in oxygen from the smoke. He stumbles over fallen wood and can feel the small exposed areas of his skin burning, but he doesn't stop moving. Not until he bumps into open door frame and hears cries of relief as he gasps for air.

He collapses at the front of the house, but still manages to not let Arbor fall from his arms. Two people race over and pick him and Arbor up before carrying them away from the blaze. "My- dad," Arthur barely gets out through coughs that sting his lungs. He can barely see who is helping him, his eyes burning from the smoke and watering profusely.

"Damn it, he's going to get himself killed!" Gregor yells and Arthur can hear cries from the crowd as the second-in-command runs back into the house with another person.

Someone sits Arthur down and Arbor keeps clinging to his side as people carefully give them both water. Arthur can't take his eyes off of the front of the house, feeling guilt running through him for leaving his father alone in there. He could have stayed a few extra seconds and helped him lift the log. Didn't his father always say to not leave someone alone on a rescue mission? But his father also told him to go… And he saved Arbor by following his father's instruction.

Arthur glances down at the young boy that can't be much older than ten, finding him staring up at him with wide eyes. "Tha-ank you," the boy gets out before getting into a coughing fit, but he still looks up at Arthur with a look of amazement.

Arthur smiles down at the boy, feeling a sense of pride in himself that momentarily blocks out the fear for his father. He doesn't think anything could ever beat the feeling of knowing that he was the reason someone is safe and alive. He ruffles the top of Arbor's head gently, "Any time, kid. Now let's find your family."

Arthur slowly stands up and helps Arbor up, keeping an eye on the blazing house as he starts walking over to the three other people covered in soot and crying as they reach out for Arbor.

But at a few cries, Arthur turns back to the house to find four people stumbling out, two of them practically being dragged out. "Dad!" Arthur shouts as he runs forward, feeling his eyes watering for a new reason as he stares at his father's limp form barely held up by Gregor.

"He needs medics now," Gregor cries out, his normally calm voice betraying his fear. Arthur starts looking around, but there are no medics in sight. After all, they're not in a very populated area of Eleven, not that there are very many of those. Their group is usually the help. "Help!"

Gregor lays Josef down on the ground and Arthur can only watch through tear filled eyes as he starts doing chest compressions and mouth-to-mouth, a desperate attempt to get air into his father's smoke filled lungs. "Come on, Dad…" Arthur whispers, dropping down to his knees next to his father and Gregor, grasping one of his father's hands and pulling back the sleeve to expose his wrist. He desperately presses two fingers against the artery in the wrist, yet feels no pulse. "Dad, no!"

The house finally collapses down behind them, yet Arthur can't bring his gaze away from his father. When Gregor finally stops and sits up, wiping away sweat from his brow, Arthur very slowly brings his gaze up to him. "He breathed in too much smoke…" Gregor tells him quietly, clearly his throat as he looks away from Arthur but not before Arthur sees tears welling in the man's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Arthur." Gregor sits back, staring at the blazing fire with tears silently falling down his cheeks for a few seconds before finally bringing his gaze back to Arthur. "I failed him… I won't fail you…"

Arthur tries to nod his head at this, but can barely bring himself to do the small movement as he struggles to hold in his sobs in his burning chest. "What do I do now?" He asks quietly, trying to hide the wavering in his voice as he looks anywhere but at his father's body.

"For now you'll come with me until we figure this out."

 _~.~._

Arthur's footsteps are heavy as he follows Gregor into his tiny house, just enough space for the man, really. "I know it's not much…" Gregor says as they enter. "But it's home… I already have some of the team working on finding somewhere for you to stay. Elaina Perkinson said you can stay there once the Stien family has found somewhere else.

Arthur nods his head as he looks around the small shack, still feeling numb to the events that transpired tonight. He just…can't believe his father is gone. The man he's looked up to his entire life, gone because he was so selfless and just wanted to help someone else. Arthur can't even bring himself to cry anymore tears, his body so desperately holding on to the little water still in him after going into the blazing house. And yet…he almost feels proud of his father right now in a way that completely confuses him.

"What will happen to the team?" Arthur asks, knowing that the rescue team was his father's pride and joy. How many lives around the District have been made better thanks to him? How many lives have been saved?

"Well," Gregor says with a heavy sigh as he pours out two tall glasses of water. He passes one to Arthur who gulps it down, his parched throat desperate for it. "I'll take over in the meantime but I'm not much to run things permanently… I have to talk to the team about it but…I know I want you to take over."

"Me?" Arthur asks in complete disbelief. He hands shake as he brings his glass back to his lips, trying to fill the empty space as he figures out his thoughts, yet only a couple drops hit his lips. Run the rescue team…? "Why me?"

"You're a good kid. You're selfless and always polite to everyone…" Gregor pauses to stare at him for a few seconds as Arthur stares at him in surprise over his praise, not completely sure if he deserves it. "I see a lot of Josef in you. He raised you well. But if you don't want to, I completely understand-"

"No, I want to," Arthur says quickly, making Gregor silently raise a single eyebrow at him. He sits up tall at this, feeling a determination running through him to step up for this task. He just _knows_ it's exactly what his father would have wanted him to do and it's what he's been training him for. He just…never expected he would need to do this so soon. "But I…I'm scared of taking over. But I want to make him proud of me…and also you."

"Arthur, you're going to do great," Gregor tells him, slowly starting to smile proudly at him, even if his eyes are still filled with deep sadness over the loss of his oldest friend. "You won't be tackling this alone. We're a team and won't ever abandon you."

"I know…" Arthur responds before hunching back down in his chair, feeling overwhelmed by the pressure being placed on him. Isn't he too young for all of this responsibility? He doesn't even know if he'll be nearly as good of a person as his father…but he wants to. He wants to be as selfless and brave as him, never hesitating to rescue people. "But I'm only fifteen and I…I'm scared I won't be as good as him."

Gregor stares over at him carefully and Arthur turns down his gaze, not wanting to disappoint the man that's been close to a second father to him. "You don't have to be just like him."

"But I want to be!" Arthur brings his gaze back up at this, trying to make sure Gregor knows this is what he wants, even if he's scared and still trying to come to terms with the fact that is father is really gone. "I want to make him proud."

* * *

 _Eight Months Before the Reaping_

The bells on the door to the shop tinkle and Arthur glances up from his notes as he catalogs what supplies they have loaned out, expecting to see another family coming in and desperately asking for help that he'll gladly provide. But instead he finds his best friend Fern entering, holding up a bag of lunch for the three of them, and he starts grinning at her immediately. "You're the best, Fern."

"You know, you should tell me that more often," Fern jokes with him and Arthur just keeps giving her a small smile, but when he feels his cheeks heating up a bit, he turns back to the notes in hopes that she won't see. "I only help run the shop when you go run off and be a _dashing_ and _brave_ hero-"

"I am not dashing," Arthur interrupts her, not really thinking it, but this just gets a scoff from Fern and an eyeroll.

"Tell that to all the girls at school," Fern chuckles at this, but her smile doesn't quite reach her eyes. " _Oh Arthur, you're so brave for saving people! And wow, look at those muscles you have! Can I poke them?_ "

Arthur shakes his head at her impression, both of them knowing it's only a couple of the girls that go that far. He reaches out for the bag of food, only for her to pull it back out of his reach. He gives a sigh at her, but has to fight back a smile as she jumps up to sit on the wooden counter etched with all sorts of things from their boredom as kids. "I'm just trying my best to be as brave as my father. You know that."

Fern starts rummaging through the bag as Arthur leans against the counter next to her, still just lightly smiling at his friend. "Yeah I know," she answers as he tosses him over a sandwich. "Hey Arbor, lunch time!"

Hurried footsteps start racing towards them and Arbor slides into the front of the shop, huge grin on his face as he wipes off his hands on his pants, leaving wet marks across them. "You're the greatest!" He tells her as she offers a sandwich to him and she just raises her eyebrows as she looks over at Arthur.

"Oh stop," he tells her, laughing around a bit of his sandwich and shaking his head at her. She really is, but Arthur has yet to find the way to tell her that. It's the one thing he isn't brave about, but maybe someday he will be. Just…not today.

The bells to the shop ring again and he looks away from Fern, finding a very surprising person walking over to them, looking determined and way more confident than Arthur has seen her in past public appearances. "Pinova, wow, welcome," Arthur says, wiping at his mouth before smiling at their District's youngest victor. "How can we help you?"

"I want to help people prepare," the victor answers with determination, looking around at the other two before returning her gaze to Arthur and giving him a smile in return. "And I heard you're the person to go to."

"Well, I'm flattered," Arthur tells her, still smiling as he nods his head. "We've been selling survival gear for the upcoming storm and we still have a lot in stock."

"Great, I'll take whatever you can spare to distribute," Pinova answers, looking around the shop at all the gear.

"Let me help you!" Arbor says excitedly and Arthur looks over at him, amused look on his face to find the young boy grinning up at Pinova and looking enamored by her.

Pinova giggles a little and looks over at Arthur, "Well, I suppose you can, as long as it's okay with Arthur."

Arthur looks down at the young boy that he's been training to become a rescuer just like him ever since the fire, finding him holding his hands together in a pleading gesture and looking up at Arthur with wide cute eyes. "Oh I don't see why not," Arthur says with a smile and a shrug, holding in a laugh at how excited Arbor looks. He ruffles Arbor's hair, making the young boy swat his hand away and try to smooth out his hair. "Just ask if you're not sure about something."

"I will!" Arbor answers quickly before grabbing Pinova's hand and leading her into the shop to point out all the supplies that she'll need.

Arthur watches them, the young victor giving Arbor her full attention and asking him lots of questions, making Arthur smile proudly at the kid. "Should I be concerned that he's too infatuated by her to tell her the right stuff?"

"Nah, he'll be fine, you taught him well," Fern chuckles at this for a few seconds before falling quiet to take a bite of her sandwich. "You know," she starts up quietly after a minute of watching Arbor and Pinova, all sense of joking gone from her voice. "He's going to end up being just like you someday."

Arthur turns his full attention over to his friend at this, surprised by her change in tone. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No," Fern answers immediately, giving Arthur a small smile as she bumps his shoulder with hers. "It's a very good thing. We need more people like you in the world."

* * *

 _Jessamine "Mini" Briggs, 14_

 _One Month Before The Reaping_

Jessamine has been trying her best to focus on her book, but it's hard to pay attention when she's just waiting for the minutes to tick away until her friends arrive. They have been planning this outing all week and Jessamine simply can't wait any longer. Not when it means getting to go to her favorite place. She glances up from her book once more to look out the dirty window, sighing when she doesn't see her friends yet. She loves staying at home all day and being taught by her mother, but at times like this she wishes she wasn't homeschooled so she didn't have to wait for the others to walk the mile over to her house.

When she doesn't see any kids her age walking by, she tries to focus once more on the book in her lap, knowing she's supposed to be reading it and writing up a summary of it. Her mother knows she loves reading and it's why she told her to read on her own while she put her focus solely on Hugo, but…her friends are going to be here any minute now.

Jessamine glances over at the tiny clock on the mantel above the fireplace and when she sees that it's just about the time when her friends are dismissed from class, she finally gives up on reading the book and shuts it. She gently tosses it onto the table in front of her and stands up, putting her arms up to stretch after sitting on the couch for a couple hours reading. She'll just finish reading and do the assignment later…

With a slight skip to her step and keeping her gaze directed out the windows, Jessamine goes over to the small bedroom she shares with her twin brother, which conveniently also has a window overlooking the front yard. She goes to her small stereo and puts in one of her old cds, one she found ages ago of some rock band, and puts it in, letting the music start blasting around her. With a content smile, she flops down onto her bed, just feeling the vibrations from the music and the heavy drums. She nods her head along to the music, bringing her hands up above her to mimic playing on her own drum set. They'll never be able to avoid her one…but she would love to play music someday. If she can't be a singer, well, maybe drums would be a good alternative? Or maybe guitar…yeah, she could play a loud bass guitar and just play and feel the music vibrating in her chest.

A hand waves above her face suddenly, scaring her a little bit and she jumps up to look at her mother standing there, only a slightly disapproving look on her face. "Hi Mom," Jessamine tells her, smiling up at the woman that's raised her for years and taught her everything. "You almost gave me a heart attack, I thought you knew better than to sneak up on me."

Ethel Briggs nearly rolls her eyes at her daughter's sarcasm, but as Jessamine keeps grinning up at her, a smile slowly starts to form on her face. She shakes her head as she smooths out Jessamine's big pile of curls. "Mini, can you turn it down? Your brother can't concentrate."

Jessamine starts frowning right away at this and sadly nods her head as she goes over to the stereo to turn it down. She didn't want to distract her brother…she should have known better that the loud music is too much for him at times. When she turns back to her mother, she's trying not to let guilty tears fall down her face. "I'm sorry…I didn't want to distract him…"

Her mother starts frowning at her reaction and steps towards her so she can give her a quick hug and a kiss on the top of her head. "He doesn't blame you. You know he loves you."

Jessamine nods her head at this, but she still feels bad… She's going to apologize to him.

Her mother looks away from her at something and Jessamine waits until she turns back to her, a smile on her face. "I think your friends might be here."

Immediately Jessamine is grinning at this, her mood brightened right away as she runs out of the room and towards the front room. But she pauses halfway to the door to go into the kitchen where she knows her brother is working on things. She finds him sitting at the kitchen counter and he looks up at her approach, giving her one of his characteristic wide smiles. "Hi Hugo," she tells him, stepping closer to see his notes, knowing that he communicates in a different way from other people, just like her.

"Have fun," Hugo writes to her before smiling up at her and signing _'I love you'_. She quickly returns the gesture to him, completely meaning it.

"I will," she answers him before turning to head back to the door once more. She skips over towards the door and yanks it open, ready to greet her two friends. But she starts frowning right away when she only sees one of them there. "Where's Lilith?"

Avery gives a shrug at Jessamine as she steps out of the house and shuts the door behind her. "She said something came up with her family last minute."

"I hope everything is okay…" Jessamine frowns as she looks up at Avery, really worried about Lilith. "Should we go see her instead?"

"No, no," Avery shakes her head at Jessamine right away as they start walking away from her house, but Jessamine isn't totally convinced. "I think she had to babysit her younger brother or something for a bit."

"Oh okay," Jessamine responds, still a little worried for her friend and also a bit sad that Lilith couldn't join them. She was looking forward to seeing both of her friends today… But at least she still gets to see Avery. "How was your day?"

Avery shrugs as she fiddles with her hands, looking ahead as they walk for a few seconds before turning to respond to Jessamine. "A little boring? We're just learning about geometry and shapes are not very exciting. But I did hear a rumor that we might be having an end of the year picnic."

"I didn't hear it," Jessamine giggles to herself at her comment and grins over at Avery, waiting to see her friend's response.

It takes a moment for Avery to figure out Jessamine's joke and she quickly shakes her head at her friend, but gives her a small hip bump. "Go figure," Avery laughs a little bit at this as they wait at an intersection for someone on a bike to ride past, with Avery sticking out her arm to stop Jessamine from walking in front of them. Jessamine carefully looks both ways before they continue walking across, getting closer to the busy part of town. "But you should come to the picnic. It would be fun and I will make sure no one says anything bad about you."

"I don't think anyone will say anything mean," Jessamine responds, firmly believing that none of the kids their age will do that. Why would they? They don't know much about her and she's sure they're all nice.

"I'll stick up for you," Avery answers, determined look on her face as she looks at her friend. "And if it's lame, we'll just ditch and go to the picnic Pride is hosting with Pinova."

Jessamine nods her head at that, wanting to go to the Pride picnic, but also just not sure if she'll fit in there… Do they even allow people to go that might be straight? She barely talks to others her age, thanks to being homeschooled so how is she supposed to know? "I…want to go to the Pride picnic instead," Jessamine says slowly, getting a look of surprise from her friend. They stop at a traffic light and Avery turns fully towards her as they wait to cross. "Pinova just seems really nice but…that's if we're allowed to go."

"Of course you're allowed," Avery shakes her head at Jessamine as they resume walking, her friend looping her arm with Jessamine's as they start getting into the busier part so they don't get separated. "Why wouldn't you be?"

Jessamine shrugs at her, not really knowing why. "I don't know how that works."

Avery doesn't respond as they get closer to the music shop, having to focus on what's going on around them. As they reach the door, Jessamine pats her pocket, just double checking that she has her allowance with her that she's been saving up for this day. Avery opens the door for them and Jessamine forgets about the picnics, all her thoughts on the small amount of old instruments and Capitol-approved selection of cds.

The shop owner looks up at them entering and Jessamine knows he heard the bells on the door. He smiles when he sees them and Jessamine reads his lips as he welcomes them before she untangles her arm from Avery's so she can start wandering around the shop. Jessamine is so happy Ernie is a nice man and has never kicked them out before on the many times they've come in just so Jessamine can listen to music in the shop or stare at the old drum kit no one is every able to afford so it just sits in the corner collecting dust.

Jessamine starts walking among the records, running her hand over them as she passes the folk and pop stuff, staring a little at them and contemplating for a second if she should buy one of them. But she soon moves on, knowing those songs won't have enough bass to allow her to really feel it in her chest. Avery keeps trying to convince her to give Beyond The Realm a chance, claiming they're all the rage, but the small bit she's sampled of them just hasn't appealed to her in the same way the rock stuff does.

Jessamine reaches the cds she always chooses from and starts flipping through them, just reading the titles of the mostly ancient bands that the Capitol has approved of for them. She always just picks based on the name of the band and her fingers stop flipping through as she stops at one that's had water stains on the paper and made the band name hard to read. Jessamine looks up at Avery to question her about the band, wondering if she has heard of them. "Pain At The…Disco? What's a disco and why would you want to be in pain at one?"

Avery comes over to look over at the cd and Jessamine watches her, seeing her start laughing before she turns towards her. "It's panic, not pain. And not sure, I'll ask Ernie. Do you want to listen to it?"

Jessamine nods her head as she picks up the package and brings it over to the small player that Ernie has set up in the shop for people to sample the music before buying it. She gently removes the cd and sets it in the player before pushing back her mass of curls so she can fit the headphones on her head. She cranks the volume all the way up and picks up the small player so she can keep walking around the store as she nods her head to the music. She tucks it into the waistband of her pants, freeing up her hands so she can keep looking through cds and move along to the music. She stares at the drums as she listens to the band playing, really liking the bass and thinking she'll buy this one.

She feels a tap on her shoulder and turns around to face Avery. "A disco is like a party place," Avery tells her and Jessamine nods her head, slowly picturing a fun place with just music blasting and people dancing along.

The image brings a smile to her face and she starts moving along to the music playing, almost shutting her eyes to just picture herself in the disco, but she doesn't want to accidentally knock something over in Ernie's shop. She did that once and felt bad about it for days.

Jessamine turns around to Avery, smiling to herself as she keeps bobbing her head along and tapping her foot to the beat. "I want to go to a disco."

"I don't think Eleven has one," Avery responds to her, frowning just a little and making Jessamine do the same. She loves Eleven, especially with all the exciting things that have happened here since Pinova's victory two years ago…but she wishes they had a disco and other fun stuff to do. "But we can make one in your room!"

"I'd love that!" Jessamine giggles in excitement at it and takes the headphones off of her head, shaking her head a bit to get her curls to fluff out again. "And we can ask Hugo to join too!"

"Sure," Avery answers with a smile before gesturing to the cd player. "Are you getting that one?"

"I think so," Jessamine nods her head and looks down at the player. "Do you want to listen?" She asks before taking the player into her hands and holding it out to her friend."

Avery shakes her head but smiles at her friend. "I'll listen later at your house."

Jessamine nods her head, grinning up at her friend before putting the headphones back on her head. She keeps wandering around the shop, occasionally catching glimpses of Avery talking to Ernie and asking him questions about the stuff in the shop, both of them lighting up in enthusiasm as they discuss the music. It makes Jessamine happy to see them both happy and she smiles a little to herself as she dances along, spinning a little bit and having to reach out to stop a display from falling over after she accidentally bumps into it. Once it's steady, she keeps moving around, limiting her dancing to just moving her arms instead of twirling to prevent herself from actually knocking something over.

She ends up listening to the whole cd but keeps wandering over to the drum set and staring longingly at it. She could never have one in her home…surely it would be too much for Hugo… Not that they can even afford one. But she sure would love to play one.

Out of her periphery, she catches Avery waving at her and turns over to her, finding her pointing at Ernie. She reads the lips of the shop owner as the cd loops back to the first song. "You can try it if you want."

"Really?" Jessamine questions, a slow smile forming on her face as Ernie nods his head at her. "Thank you, thank you!" Jessamine quickly tells him as she takes off her headphones and sets the cd player gently on a pile of cds next to the drum set. She slides onto the stool and stares with wide eyes down at the various drums and other stuff she doesn't know the name for, not even knowing where to start.

She runs a hand over one of the drums and hesitantly presses her foot onto one of the pedals, making the small mallet hit the bass drum. She can feel the noise vibrate up her leg and presses the pedal a little harder, grinning as she keeps feeling the vibrations of the drum. She could spend hours just pressing the pedals, but she grabs the drumsticks and hits a symbol, grinning as the crash makes a different feeling to her.

She tries to start making the pattern that was in the song as Avery comes over to stand next to her, doing her best to look happy with what is probably just a cacophony of noise from Jessamine. "You sure you haven't played before? It actually sounds good."

Jessamine pauses and rests the drumsticks carefully on her lap before slowly answering Avery. "I wish…and I wouldn't know," she frowns a little, being reminded once more of the dream she can never achieve. Most days she is accepting of it, knowing this is the life she was born into. And yet, she can't help but have times when she longs for it to be different.

"I'm serious," Avery tells her, frowning down at her friend. "You have some talent for that…maybe you could someday play."

"But I want to sing…" Jessamine frowns, feeling her eyes watering at the dream she'll never reach. But she takes a deep breath and shakes her head, trying not to dwell on it. She's lucky to have the life she has and wouldn't want to trade it. If she did, she might not have Hugo as her brother and best friend, or have met Avery and Ernie and enjoyed music with them. "Well I should go buy the cd so we can go home and make a disco in my room."

Avery looks like she wants to keep talking but soon nods her head and turns over to Ernie, saying something to him as Jessamine carefully stands up, doing her best to be gentle with the drum set. Once away from it, she runs a hand over one of the drums, smiling longingly at it and already starting to think about when they might be able to come back so she can try playing it again. Probably not until after the school year ends, but even then, Avery will probably be busy working in the fields to help out her family. But she's sure they can find some time to come back. She knows Avery will make time for her.

Jessamine carefully puts the cd back in its case and the player back in its spot before walking over to the counter, holding the cd up to her chest and smiling just thinking about bringing it home and letting Hugo listen to it. She gently sets it down on the counter and starts to reach into her pocket to pay for it, but Avery puts a hand on her arm to stop her. She looks up in confusion and Avery quickly explains. "Ernie said you can have it for free as long as you keep coming back to play for him."

Jessamine immediately looks up at Ernie, jaw dropping open in surprise and he laughs as he smiles at her. "I can't take it for free…"

"Of course you can," Ernie says to her, still smiling pleasantly at her. He pushes the cd back towards her and she slowly picks it up before hugging it to her chest, it meaning so much more to her now that Ernie is giving it to her.

"Thank you," Jessamine tells him, whatever little remnants of sadness at never getting to have her dream gone and replaced with gratitude towards him. "Thank you so very much!" She turns to Avery, still grinning about the cd. "Come on, I want to go play this for Hugo!"

* * *

 _Aineon "Ain" Ashminov, Escort for District Eleven_

Unlike the majority of the other escorts, Ain hasn't been looking forward to the Reaping this year. No…ever since the Quell twist was announced, he's been confused and scared about the implications of the twist. Why would anyone do that to someone? And the past year has opened his eyes to the people of Eleven and he can't just view them as being different from him like so many of his colleagues do. There's also the fear that with the recent rebel activity, someone is going to steal the technology to take away the senses and he'll end up losing a sense… He doesn't understand why there's suddenly rebels, but he wants to. And he also wants to find some way to make sure he doesn't lose his sight, hearing, or touch… He can't imagine not being able to play his flute anymore and losing something that brings him so much joy.

But speaking of joy… There was one reason Ain has at least been looking forward to returning to Eleven. He's probably the only escort who has ever genuinely been excited to return to District Eleven, but those other escorts must have never realized what a rich culture is present in the District. And, of course, returning to District Eleven means he gets to see his girlfriend.

Ain has been both excitedly and nervously counting down the days until he got to return to District Eleven to see Pinova once more. Part of him wishes he wasn't so excited for the Games to roll around once more because he saw firsthand how much it hurt Pinova to lose their two tributes last year…but he won't lie and say that he hasn't been excited about spending a lot of time with her for the next few weeks. He just wishes it wasn't for such a somber reason.

Ain has passed on making another long grand entrance again this year to stay back with Pinova for a few extra minutes in the Justice Building. He had even contemplated not performing this year as a deep part of him assumed that if he acts out and not like a 'normal escort', they'll punish him for playing… But Pinova was able to convince him that wasn't the case, so he has a little something planned for her. And he can't disappoint his new admirer, even if Devrek could use a little help from him.

"I'm so glad you're here," Pinova whispers as she keeps holding on to him, even as the time for her to go out on stage quickly returns. "This Quell twist has me so anxious."

"I know…me too," Ain responds, rubbing her back to try and soothe her, but he knows there's not much he can do. He can't change the Quell twist or stop her from mentoring, not that she would let that happen. And he loves the fierce determination in her to help others, it was what first drew him in and just made him keep loving her. "But we're going to get through this together and I just know we're going to get a victor this year. I feel it."

Pinova lets out a sigh at this as footsteps approach them and she picks up her head to look at Kanzi walking over. "I sure hope you're right…" She leans up to give him a kiss on the cheek and he quickly turns his head so she kisses him on the lips, making her giggle a little. Hearing her laugh, even if for just a couple seconds, is enough for him and he feels a little better about having to let go of her for the Reaping. "Play well and pick a winner."

"I will," Ain answers, grinning at his adorable girlfriend as she walks backwards towards the door, smiling back at him. When she's out of sight, he lets out a sigh and the smile disappears as he thinks once more about the upcoming Quell. He doesn't know what to expect with the twist and that worries him… How are they going to take away their senses? And what sense will his two lose? If it's sight or hearing, he doesn't know if they'll win… And what if someone were to get ahold of whatever they use and make the mentors lose a sense? He's worried about the tributes already but also his girlfriend… But at least he knows he can protect Pinova and he's going to do everything he can once more to get home one of the tributes.

"Okay let's bring out our escort," he can hear the mayor say from outside and he pulls out his trusty flute, ready to make another spectacular entrance once more. "Who knows where he'll appear from this year? Welcome, Aineon Ashminov!"

Ain nods for the doors to be opened in front of him and he starts playing the song, a special one that he picked out for someone since he heard that _Careless Whisper_ is his favorite song. A few in the crowd applaud him as he steps out on the stage, but he's pretty sure that's mostly Pinova. He twirls a bit, not being as dramatic with his performance as last year, but he still ends with a flourish before bowing to the crowd. He grins when he's met with applause and goes to the microphone, pointing out at one of the cameras. "Dave, I picked that song just for you! Great job today, bud!"

Ain takes a deep breath, trying to force the grin from performing off his face, all too aware that the choices he makes in the next few minutes will change the lives of two people and their families forever. And he's spent too much time with Pinova and knows that everyone in this District are just like the people in the Capitol, just born in a different place and with less opportunities available. "Hello, District Eleven," he says gently and gives the children gathered an encouraging smile. "I'm Ain Ashminov and I'm very grateful to be back here. And I am ready to do everything in my power to bring you home another victor this year." He tucks his flute away in his pocket and clasps his hands in front of him before continuing, "Now I think we'll keep switching things up like last year and pick in a different order from everyone else."

Ain takes a deep breath before walking over to the first of the glass spheres, considering the large amount of slips present and knowing that the reason there are so many is from how many people have to take out tesserae… It's gotten better since Pinova's victory, but there's still so much more he would like to do to help them with her. He finally picks the first name and returns to the microphone, somber compared to when he first walked out on the stage. After all, he's about to pick a child to send into the Hunger Games. "Our first tribute is…Arthur Bramble."

Murmurs travel through the crowd at the name, most of them letting out some form of relief that it was not their name that was called. It takes a few seconds before a boy steps out from the seventeen year olds and Ain briefly turns back to look at Pinova, all too aware that he's the same age as her. But his girlfriend is staying strong, simply staring at Arthur approaching the stage. Much like Pinova, Arthur is keeping all of his emotions bottled up and his face clear of what he's feeling inside. As he gets closer to the stage, Ain can see a ruggedness to him, from the scar across the left side of his jaw, his fit build, and the scruff on his face. When he reaches Ain, he stands tall and holds out his hand to shake the escort's, and up close, Ain can see just how much he's trying to hold it all together. "Welcome, Arthur," Ain says as he shakes his hand, Arthur firmly gripping is own, and he notices the tattoo of an eagle on the back of his right hand. "Cool ink."

"Thank you, it's for my father…" Arthur tells him, a pang of sadness briefly crossing his face before he keeps his gaze neutral. He lets go of Ain's hand to face the crowd, holding his hands behind his back as he stands tall and stares straight ahead, seemingly accepting of all of this.

"And are there any volunteers for Arthur?" Ain asks the crowd out of obligation, but he knows from Pinova that no one is going to volunteer. Even if a sibling is Reaped, the chances of someone volunteering are so slim. And just like he predicted, no one steps forward for Arthur. "Alright, let's pick the tribute who will join Arthur."

Ain once more takes his time assessing the slips and picking one, trying not to think about the families that will be losing a child or sibling if he fails to help them get home… But he has to stay positive that they'll get one of them home. Arthur already seems like he might be a good choice and perhaps the other will as well. So he picks his name and returns to the microphone. "And the second tribute is…Jessamine Briggs."

It takes a few seconds before a girl steps out into the aisle to walk up, looking back at a friend that's pointing up towards the stage. Jessamine slowly starts walking up, looking around at the people staring at her. As she gets closer, she wipes away tears in her eyes and that's when a woman lets out a cry for her from the gathered crowd before getting cut off. But Jessamine doesn't look around at the sound like other people do, instead staring up at Ain with wide eyes full of fear and awe as she walks up the steps to the stage. "Welcome, Jessamine," Ain says to her, but gets no acknowledgement from her and he just assumes she's in shock.

Jessamine looks back up at him as she stops walking next to him and starts moving her hands in front of her in very specific patterns. It takes a few seconds for realization to cross over Ain and his eyes widen as he stares down at her with growing dread. What did he just do… "You can't hear," he whispers, realizing she won't be able to hear him say that. But she stares at his lips and after a few seconds, she slowly nods her head as her eyes start turning glossy.

Ain can just stare at her in growing dread, not believing that he picked someone who already has lost one of their senses and is forcing them to lose another. He slowly turns away from her and back to the crowd, unable to even bring himself to look over at Pinova to see how she's reacting because it's all his fault. "Are there…" he starts quietly, clearing his throat to try and speak louder. "Are there any volunteers for Jessamine?" He pleads to the crowd, desperately hoping that someone might step forward.

But no one does and he turns back to Jessamine, feeling so guilty as she stares at him with tear filled eyes. "I'm sorry," he tells her, watching as she reads his lips. He already knows the first thing he does on the train will be securing a translator for her. He will not give her any less of a chance at winning than Arthur.

He turns back to the crowd, much more somber than when he first started, and he takes a deep breath. "Well, we have our two tributes… Jessamine Briggs and Arthur Bramble…"

Ain watches the two shake hands as the District gives obligated applause for hem before motioning them to walk into the building. As he turns himself, he feels a tug on his billowy sleeve and glances down to see Jessamine looking up at him with innocent eyes. She points to her chest before putting her left palm up and running the fingertips of her right hand down the palm and her fingers before pointing at Ain. Ain doesn't know very much sign language, only a few phrases and he cannot sign himself, but he knows what she just said to him.

She might forgive him, but he's not sure if he forgives himself.

* * *

 **WE HAVE OFFICIALLY MADE IT THROUGH ALL OF THE INTROS! I'm so very hyped to have gotten through all the intros and have everyone see what the complete set of awesome tributes we have for this story! As always, very big thanks to GalacticCoach, EllaRoseEverdeen, and Shunkazamis-girl for Arthur, Ella, and Ain respectively!**

 **So there we have it, our District Eleven pair! Thoughts on these two? I'm curious at what point you realized that Jessamine is deaf - I threw in lots of little hints here and there!**

 **Now that we have seen all of the tributes, I've put up a poll on my profile for 'Who are your favorite tributes?' because I'm curious! As always, if you vote for your own in the poll, please at least pick a couple others! Also I'm curious if there are any ideas about who might be allies. And why not ask, preliminary picks for victor right now?**

 **Next chapter we'll be checking in with Seraphim for our usually reaping recap chapter! It should be up around March 16th so I'll see you then!**


	17. Reaping Recap

**Chapter 13:**

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

"I'm nervous."

Seraphim turns to look over at Laelia, the young Gamemaker fidgeting with her hands as Theodosius leads them through the President's Mansion. "About him?" Seraphim whispers, nodding his head over at the hulking Council member. And he'll admit, if he hadn't spent a bunch of time around a victor from District Two, he would be terrified of the former head of the Peacekeepers.

"No," Laelia answers softly as they slow down in front of a door, the guards on either side saluting Theodosius. "About facing the President and telling him all the problems."

"It will be fine, you're just here to observe and I'll handle the talking," Seraphim tries to reassure her, but he doesn't feel like it will be fine. Not with everything that went wrong today. "This is fine, right?"

Laelia looks up at him with wide, panic filled eyes at this. "You're the one supposed to be telling me it's all fine."

"It will be," Seraphim says, unsure if he's convincing himself or Laelia as the doors open to the President's office and he can see right away that it will not be fine.

Seraphim tries to smile at the President as they walk in, but he can't stop glancing at the two people standing behind him, soon joined by Theodosius. If the Council is all here… _oh this is not good at all._

"Hello Seraphim, hello Laelia, lovely to see you again," President Xavier says as he stands up and motions to the two seats in front of him. Seraphim leads the way in, hoping Laelia doesn't get nervous and stay back. "Please, take a seat and we'll get this moving."

Seraphim sits down, nervously running a finger over the edge of his tablet as he looks over at the President as someone comes by to offer them tea. "No thank you," Seraphim tells them, but Laelia gratefully accepts some. "So…" Seraphim starts, glancing between the President and the Council members.

"I am aware we have some problems," President Xavier says when Seraphim keeps hesitating to speak, not wanting to be the person to tell him the major issues. "I've been watching the Reapings for the first time in years because I've been concerned about the rebels… So I know what happened during the Reapings."

"Those damn rebel scum," Theodosius mutters under his breath and President Xavier holds up a hand to stop him from continuing.

President Xavier looks over at Seraphim hesitating and motions at him. "Let's just go through the Districts in order and we'll discuss the issues when we get to them."

"Very well," Seraphim clears his throat as he unlocks his tablet and brings up pictures of the District One tributes on the small desk projector. "Starting off with District One. We knew these two would be the volunteers for months and there were no surprises there."

"Yes, yes," President Xavier says and Seraphim looks up with an eyebrow raised. "Tell me the stuff I don't know already."

Seraphim nods his head at this and gets started right away, "Okay starting with Major Emerson-Ness-"

"Does District One really think that boy can beat District Two's tributes?"

Everyone looks over at Theodosius at his comment and he crosses his arms at all of them. "I mean, look at him! He's a pretty boy who's probably afraid to get his hands dirty."

"Theodosius," Xavier says and the Council member nods his head at him, getting the hint to tone it down with his comments. When Xavier turns back to Seraphim there's a faint hint of amusement in his eyes, but it doesn't last long. "Please continue."

"So Major," Seraphim says, almost expecting someone to interrupt him again. "He has a bit of a legacy to live up to. Both of his parents were second place to volunteer for the 121st Hunger Games."

"Emilio's year?" Xavier asks for confirmation.

"Correct, and take one guess who is supposedly mentoring him," Seraphim chuckles at the irony there, but quickly stops as he turns back to his notes. "Anyways, seems like he was in second place for years until the age of 17. And at that time, he started dating the first place trainee."

Seraphim waits to see what conclusions the others make about this, wondering if they'll go to the same thought he had. "Sabotage?" Luciano finally speaks up. Seraphim shrugs at them, knowing that's where his mind went when he heard about this.

"So he's a dishonorable pretty boy," Theodosius speaks up, not hiding the fact that he doesn't like Major. "Just the type I hate."

"But at least he's not a rebel," Rosabella says to him, making the man purse his lips but stay silent.

"Correct," Luciano reaffirms this statement and Seraphim really looks at them as he hears the exhaustion in their voice. There's bags under their eyes and they look ready to fall asleep, but yet they stay alert. "I'll be able to tell you if there are rebels involved this year."

"That's good because I've had my share of rebels," Seraphim answers and gets a bit of a chuckle from Luciano. He turns back to the President, "Major should be fine and not one to be concerned about. He'll fight and probably make an interesting dynamic in the career pack. Now we also have Anastacia Astoria," Seraphim brings the girl's picture up larger as he skims over the notes. "Interesting medical report shows that she has moderate hearing loss in one ear from a training accident – well, 'accident' – that burst her eardrum."

"Is she losing hearing?" Rosabella asks him, already going along the thoughts that Seraphim has already considered for months. "Puts her at an advantage there. So maybe it's best she doesn't lose hearing since she's surely trained."

"No, she's not," Seraphim answers her, going through the mental list in his head of which sense each tribute is going to lose. "She's not the only one already missing or partially missing a sense but we'll get to that later. So training reports about Anastacia have shown that she has only had one friend in training but they…well, they went missing years ago and were found dead days later. After that is when her ranking increased immensely."

"Murder?" Xavier asks, voice immediately sad as he waits for Seraphim's response.

"No," he answers quietly, shaking his head at the President. "Suicide. Happened after they placed last in a placement exam."

Xavier sighs heavily at this and starts shaking his head, "We need to work on the toxic training atmosphere to stop things like that from happening. I'm sorry for that happening to Anastacia…"

"Yeah…" Seraphim says, not sure what else to say about it right now. He clears his throat, getting them back to discussing the tributes. "But it seems the loss of her friend is driving her so I imagine they will keep motivating her."

Xavier taps his finger on his desk as he takes a sip of his tea. "Perhaps… Very well, anything else?" Seraphim shakes his head at this and Xavier nods his head. "Alright, District Two."

"The best District," Theodosius tells them, pride filling his voice. "Just wait, District Two is going to get another Quell victor."

"We'll see," Luciano mutters, crossing their arms at him and just making him amused.

"Well, they at least seem like they'll be in better shape than last year's pair," Seraphim chuckles as he brings up the pictures of the pair. "Kat has forced them to work together for the last few months to prevent them from self-destructing like Coeus and Decima. First, Odyssey Gunderson. Really not at all what I expected from District Two but I think the Capitol will like that."

"How is he different?" Xavier asks him, staring at the picture of the boy.

"Well," Seraphim pulls up a picture on his tablet and spins it around to show the President. "This is Venus Nahara, Odyssey's drag persona. Supposedly he is volunteering to get his name out there to the Capitol to start his career."

"Interesting," Xavier raises his eyebrows at this and nods his head. "I didn't expect that from Two. They haven't quite had a history of being the most accepting of those that are different."

"Oh there's training reports of him dealing with people criticizing and mocking him," Seraphim turns the tablet around to look back at Odyssey's report. "But no conflicts reported, just that Odyssey worked harder to make sure he beat them."

"See that's what I'm talking about," Theodosius speaks up, pointing at the picture of Odyssey. "That's District Two at its finest – when they try to knock you down, you get back up and honorably prove them wrong."

Luciano rolls their eyes at this but don't speak up, clearly not in the mood to argue with Theodosius right now. Rosabella shakes her head at him, but seems amused by him.

"So yeah, that's Odyssey," Seraphim says before bringing up Bellona's information. "Then there's Bellona Silvanus. Was second place for years until last year."

"Last year?" Xavier questions before realization passes his face. "Ah…second to Decima?"

"Correct," Seraphim answers, happy that Xavier made the connection right away. "Those two were always rivals. So when Decima volunteered a year early, she pretty much solidified Bellona's spot as the volunteer. Training reports suggest she's highly competitive and also has shown interest in attending District Two University after winning."

"Wait, did you say Silvanus?" Theodosius asks him and Seraphim nods his head at him. "Ah, I thought so."

"Do you recognize that name?" Xavier turns around to look at his Council member at this.

"Of course," Theodosius says with a scoff. "They're old wealth, very well-known family. All her siblings go through training. I believe one of her brothers is in training with the Peacekeepers?"

"Yes," Seraphim says, just slightly annoyed that Theodosius is taking away his job of telling the President about the tributes. "Would you like to keep talking about Bellona or should I continue?" Theodosius chuckles and motions for Seraphim to continue, reminding Seraphim just a little bit of some of the victors in Two. "Well, Theodosius said most of what I had for her family. Both seem like strong choices from Two and Kat's been doing everything to make sure they work together and based on how they interacted at the Reaping, I'd say she's done well."

Seraphim waits for Theodosius to make some comment about them, but he stays silent, just a smug look on his face. So he turns back to the President and lets out a big sigh, knowing what District is next. "So District Three…"

President Xavier's eyes turn angry at this and Seraphim is taken aback by it, very rarely seeing this kind of anger from him. "I am beyond angry that the rebels are ruining something I've spent years working on by sending in two tributes from the summer university program." He turns back to Luciano and motions for them to step forward. "Luciano was just out in Seven collecting information…unfortunately they found out a little too late about the rebels rigging the Reaping in Three."

"They didn't let the information get out to anyone aside from the top families," Luciano says, clearly disappointed in themself that they didn't find out sooner. "I found out while on the train back."

"It's terrible," Rosabella speaks up at this, her voice wavering as she shakes her head. "They were supposed to be safe from the Reaping. They're the faces of us moving forward as a country…"

"We need to figure out exactly who was responsible for this," Xavier tells them all and Luciano nods their head, clearly the one best for this task. "But what can we do now? We can't show them any favoritism or the other Districts will be outraged…" Xavier sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose. "If they're not already outraged that they trusted us to send their children to a different District and then this happens… Make sure the victors in Three treat them exactly as they would any other year. I guess they're representing Three, even though they're from Six and Eight. And if they don't want to mentor, see if the other Districts will send a victor to mentor instead."

"I don't think it's going to be a problem…" Seraphim speaks up, growing uneasy about not knowing what to do. "Matla is their professor and she's with Isidore, who will not abandon tributes."

"Good," Xavier nods his head before sighing once more as he picks up his teacup, his hand shaking a little. "Just keep an eye on them to make sure the rebels don't do anything else with them. And is there any information about them that I don't already know?"

Seraphim skims over his notes, shaking his head at Xavier. "I don't think so… Of course they picked the two students in the programs who have lost brothers in the Games in recent years."

"Of course," Xavier echoes, taking a sip of his tea. "When they get here, I want to talk to them about this." He sighs and sets down his cup. "There's nothing else we can do right now so let's move on to District Four."

Seraphim brings up the pictures of Delta and Demarcus, and Luciano starts grinning at the sight of the girl. "Ah our firecracker made it. What a girl."

"Yes, she did and I'm glad she did," Xavier tells them, pointing over at Delta. "If we have any rebels involved in these Games, make sure she knows."

"Yes sir," Seraphim answers, seeing Laelia write this down next to him. "We all know her past, thanks to her recent position as a Capitol informant. She's clearly shed her rebel ties and is ready to fight for the Capitol in the arena."

"She made the Ottlinger family move to Seven out of fear of being caught after what happened with Velmour's family," Luciano tells them, still looking amused at all Delta has done.

"Which is a bit concerning how they moved undetected, but that's something to discuss later," Xavier says before pointing to the other picture. "What about Demarcus?"

"He's just trying to do his best for his family," Seraphim says as he brings up the background check on Demarcus that was done months ago. "A lot of the members in his family have been diagnosed with mental illnesses, including both of his parents, which has made them struggle to keep jobs. He's only in training on a scholarship but he's trained hard to be picked so he can support everyone."

"Very noble reason for volunteering," Theodosius says, nodding his head in approval at Demarcus' image. "I can respect a man trying to help out his family."

"Does he have any illness himself?" Xavier asks, staring at Demarcus' picture with a bit of respect.

Seraphim scrolls through the medical history and nods his head. "Social Anxiety Disorder."

"Hmm," Xavier mutters to himself, taking a sip of his tea before continuing, "Tell Kora so she knows to do her best to make him comfortable. We're not exploiting his illness for entertainment like Akakios tried to do years ago."

Seraphim nods his head, not questioning this even though he's curious. He knows better than to question anything about Akakios as Lisia told him all about his fall from grace. "Anything else you want to know about these two?" Xavier shakes his head and Seraphim changes the pictures to District Five's tributes. "Alright, starting out with Davy Emmerich."

"It was so sweet that Letha helped him at the Reaping," Rosabella speaks up, a hand over her heart on her chest. "He seems like such a sweet boy."

Seraphim glances over at Laelia, knowing she's had a pretty similar reaction to Davy. "Well there's no bad school reports about him at all and he has a great academic record. In fact, he's even started up a club lately promoting green energy with Letha's youngest son, Leandro."

"Explains how she seemed to know him," Xavier says before smiling a little. "But I think Letha would have done that for anyone."

"Oh definitely," Seraphim agrees, not doubting that at all. There's a reason why Letha is called the Victor Mom. "But anyways, the club goes against his family working in nuclear energy. But he seems really dedicated about it."

"So he could be good for the future of Panem," Xavier says quietly to himself, staring at Davy's picture in deep thought. "He's young and certainly at a disadvantage compared to the other much older tributes. But we did see last year that young tributes can win…" Xavier clears his throat, bringing his attention back to Seraphim. "I'm just speculating but please continue."

"That's all I have for Davy. He's a pretty normal kid," Seraphim chuckles as he thinks about the other tributes this year. "Normal is good compared to some of the others. Now, you'll also like Eva."

"And why is that?" Xavier asks, a bit of amusement in his voice at Seraphim's assumption.

"She's taking advantage of the expanded university in Five," Seraphim answers, getting a look from Xavier that confirms he's pleased with this information. "Just recently got accepted into the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering program. Supposedly she brought a whole box full of things she created and was very determined to get accepted."

"Determination is good," Xavier nods his head and points a finger at Eva's picture. "Don't underestimate her in the arena."

"Sir, I'm not underestimating anyone this year," Seraphim laughs at this and shakes his head a little bit. "Not after how I completely underestimated Clark winning."

"Correct," Xavier responds, amused by Seraphim right now. "You didn't like him at all at first. And now look at him."

"Right," Seraphim says, knowing he's grown attached to the young victor just like the rest of the country. "So I'm not underestimating anyone this year."

"Good," Xavier gestures at the screen, getting them back on track. "Now District Six? I really want to know what has happened to Elias."

"Yeah, we made sure to do a full review of his medical history," Seraphim says as he brings up the pictures of the next pair. "But there hasn't been a lot to find. In fact, there's very little available about him."

"That's not suspicious at all," Theodosius sarcastically mutters, but he has a point.

"Hmm," Seraphim says as he reads over the report on Elias. "The medical report says that he fell often and had a lot of fractures to the point his legs needed to be amputated below the knee."

"What is his family like?" Xavier asks, tone neutral by his eyes show how concerned he is about Elias.

"Let's see…" Seraphim starts scrolling through the information, shaking his head a bit. "No reports with Peacekeepers, parents both work, upper middle class. They have four children total, eldest son is in the Peaceke-"

"Investigate them," Theodosius interrupts Seraphim and his tone makes them all look over at him immediately. "No one has to get amputations like that from 'falling' a few times. Let me send someone to go look into them. If it's nothing, it's nothing. But if it's not…"

"If not, it's a concern for the other siblings," Xavier finishes and nods his head. "Do it. And I want to give Elias better prostheses to wear for the arena."

"Yes sir," Seraphim answers as Theodosius takes out his phone and starts typing up a message. Xavier motions for him to continue on so he turns his attention to Elias' District partner. "Courtney doesn't seem to have any family problems like Elias, but her parents are divorced, citing irrevocable differences. Mainly how they are raising Courtney. So she's with her father and school reports indicate early interest in applying to university for Aerospace Engineering."

"A lot of interesting in engineering, huh?" Xavier muses, shrugging at Seraphim as he takes a sip of tea. "But I'm glad to see interest in the universities."

"Me too," Rosabella agrees, proud grin on her face at the mention of them. "Although hopefully there will be enough people left to still attend them…"

"I think there will be," Xavier tells her before returning his attention to Seraphim. "Anything else noteworthy about Courtney?"

"Not really," Seraphim says but starts chuckling a little, "Well, she's going to be very excited about Beyond The Realm performing at the party."

"She might not be the only one," Xavier says with a shrug, still seemingly not that excited yet about the big party, but Seraphim knows he'll get there. "Alright…" he lets out a big sigh and shakes his head. "District Seven…"

"Do you want to talk about Adam first or after Carameuse?" Seraphim asks him, feeling uncomfortable thinking about how very pregnant Adam is right now.

"First," Xavier says as he motions Luciano over to stand next to him. "We…have a slight problem with that."

"Aside from the obvious one?"

"Yes, aside from the fact that he's nearly full term pregnant," Xavier says and motions for Luciano to take over.

"While I didn't get a whole lot of information in Seven since they're keeping me limited…I did learn something about Adam's child." Luciano takes a deep breath at this and Seraphim just waits to hear whatever it could be. "The other father was one of the children of the leaders and was the nephew of Vera Snow."

Seraphim's head starts spinning at this and his mouth drops open in shock. "That means…"

"That child is related to the leader of the rebels," Xavier finishes and they sit in heavy silence for a few seconds. "I don't doubt they'll try to save the child."

"Well we can't send an eight month pregnant person into the arena," Seraphim says and stares at Xavier in worry when he doesn't agree immediately. "Right?"

"Adam has to go into the Games…" Xavier says quietly, thinking through his response out loud. "But the child doesn't. That baby can survive at this point. We'll have Adam undergo a cesarean before the Games." He stops to look around at everyone carefully before continuing. "This information can absolutely _not_ leave this room. If the rebels find out, it could be disastrous."

"More disastrous than how people are already reacting to him being Reaped?" Seraphim asks, really not sure how it could get worse.

"Absolutely," Xavier responds, making a nervous sweat start to form on the back of Seraphim's neck. He rubs the spot on his arm as a phantom pain shoots through it, reminded of last year's Games when he got shot… "Seraphim, I will figure out the details. You just keep the Games running smoothly and know you're not getting shot again. Your mother will kill me if that happens."

Seraphim cracks a small smile at this, knowing he's absolutely telling the truth. "You're not wrong… Anyways, that information is way more important than what I had for Adam. So how about Carameuse?"

They all turn their attention to the picture of the other tribute and Xavier nods his head for Seraphim to continue. "There wasn't much information about her…and I don't think it's from rebel involvement. I think she is just living a calm and normal life."

"That would be a relief to have someone from Seven that isn't related to the growing rebellion there," Xavier mutters and shakes his head at the girl's picture. "Keep searching, I want to be certain."

"Yes sir," Seraphim answers and is ready to switch to District Eight when Luciano holds up their hand.

"Wait!" Luciano cries out before leaning closer to the picture of her, staring intently at the girl. "Holy shit."

"What? What is it?" Xavier asks immediately, moving closer to stare at the girl's picture again. He turns to look up at Luciano, concern filling his eyes. "Who is she?"

"A girl I caught talking to a known rebel while working undercover…" Luciano leans back, shaking their head before smiling sadly down at Xavier. "I chased after her but she got away from me… So unfortunately it looks like the rebels have an agent in the Games."

Xavier leans back in his chair slowly, keeping his face neutral as he takes a sip of tea. The only sign of the emotions going on in him right now is the way his hand shakes as he turns his attention over to Seraphim. "Do not let that girl win. No matter what."

"Yes sir," Seraphim agrees quietly, growing more anxious with each passing second. He doesn't want anything bad happening during these Games, but it's seeming more and more likely that something will.

"Very well," Xavier says, still keeping his voice neutral as he looks at Seraphim. "District Eight?"

Seraphim clears his throat, still uneasy from discussing the tributes from District Seven, but he nods his head and switches to the next District. "So Eight might have a solid chance of making Two not the only District with back to back wins _and_ two Quell victors – so sorry, Theodosius," he adds, trying not laugh at how offended the man looks by that.

"Yeah, we'll see about that," Theodosius grumbles, crossing his arms as he stares at the pictures of the two tributes, analyzing everything about them.

Seraphim turns his attention back to the President, but finds him not looking amused by the exchange and still deep in thought from discussing Seven, so Seraphim continues quickly, "Obviously both older tributes, both wealthy, and both friends from before the Reaping. Fete runs his deceased mother's wedding business and has for a couple years now with good success."

"That's impressive to be doing that at his age," President Xavier tells him before nodding a head at Atropa's picture. "And his friend?"

"Atropa Seigal. Also very well off since her parents run a shop distributing expensive fabric, even to the Capitol," Seraphim reads from his notes. "Neither have reports of any rebellious activity so it seems like they're just two relatively normal kids. Well," Seraphim pauses to chuckle a little as he reads the school reports about Atropa. "I guess Atropa likes to ominously tell kids about their fate and 'make predictions' to them."

"Compared to some of the previous Districts, I'll take it," Xavier answers, cracking a tiny smile at Seraphim. But the smile quickly disappears with a heavy sigh as he takes a sip of tea. "If you have nothing else, I suppose it's time to discuss what happened at the District Nine Reaping."

"Poor Agapios," Rosabella speaks up, shaking her head as she frowns at them. "He doesn't deserve to have an angry girl like that his last year."

"And someone who clearly knew Marek," Xavier adds to her statement, looking to Seraphim for confirmation.

The Head Gamemaker nods his head in agreement at this and pulls up the notes about the tragic life Sky has had in less than fourteen years. "She was at the Hall Orphanage for a few years after her parents died in a car accident. You know their policy, they only keep kids under thirteen before sending them to the Carroway Orphanage for ages thirteen through eighteen."

"Of course," Xavier nods his head. "We help fund the orphanages. It would be way too much for the Hall family to raise them for their whole childhood."

"Right…" Seraphim tells him, sighing a bit at Sky's history. It's tragic and no child should have experienced that. "Well, her birthday is in a little over a week…she had to move on just days after Marek's death and the Carroway's reported that she ran away after just two days in the orphanage."

"So she's been on the streets since then?" Xavier asks and when Seraphim nods his head, the frown that's been on the verge of appearing all meeting returns. "That's rather tragic… I wish there was more we could do for kids like that. Do we…" He hesitates for a moment, clearly unsure if he wants to know the answer to what he's asking. "Do we know why she volunteered?"

"Revenge," Seraphim says as he pulls up a video on his tablet from the goodbye rooms and shows the President. "Against the careers for killing Marek…"

They watch the video in silence for a minute before Xavier finally sighs and brings his gaze back to Seraphim. "I was worried the reason would be she was suicidal, like Jarvis last year… I don't know if there's much we can do for her aside from let her rage… Very well, what about Eliot?"

Seraphim shrugs at him, knowing he doesn't have much to report about Eliot. "A normal, good kid, albeit annoying, according to school reports. Has a tendency to pull pranks yet somehow doesn't get in trouble very often." Seraphim chuckles a little at the mention of pranks. "I wonder if we'll have another poison ivy incident in training this year."

"Of course he doesn't get in trouble, look at how cute he is," Rosabella tells them, pointing at the picture of Eliot. And she's not wrong, even if he looks like he's not even old enough to be reaped yet.

"But he at least has a good family life, unlike Sky," Seraphim continues, skimming over his notes. "Has two parents, only child, but did lose a grandparent a year ago. Teachers also report that he's hardworking, just like his grandfather was."

"Perhaps we'll have another victor that's thirteen," Luciano speculates as Xavier keeps staring over at the pictures of the two young tributes from Nine. "Both might have the fire to win."

"I suppose we'll only see in time," Xavier mutters and waves at Seraphim, "District Ten?"

"District Ten," Seraphim confirms as he moves the images on to the second to last District. "Now let me tell you, these two both have very large families and we had to put one person just on researching these two families to confirm no rebel problems."

"Define very large," Xavier asks him, an eyebrow slightly raised in curiosity as Laelia chuckles about the poor intern who got stuck researching the Ten pair.

"Well," Seraphim starts and begins scrolling through the lengthy list of family members for Genesis. "Genesis lives on a large farmstead near the outskirts of the District. Her father has four 'wives', with only one being legal, of course. Many siblings and the siblings have children. She's the oldest from her mother." Seraphim gives him a shrug, really not knowing what to tell him. "Supposedly they're almost entirely self-sustaining and rarely go into town. All the children are homeschooled. But before this, the father couldn't keep a job for longer than a few months because he was claiming they were going to get attacked by…Capitol mutts?"

"Well then," Xavier sips his tea at this, trying to keep his face neutral but Seraphim knows him well enough to know he's trying not to show he finds this odd. "To each their own. As long as she doesn't cause any trouble, her father can keep believing whatever he likes."

"I don't think she will, but I'll be sure to keep an eye on her," Seraphim tells him, getting a nod of approval at this. "Now Fox also has a large family but not because of multiple wives like Genesis. He's the second youngest of ten kids living on a cow farm. Lower class and all the kids have dropped out of school by time they're ten to work on the farm."

"We need to work harder at retaining children in school," Xavier contemplates this before glancing back to look over at Rosabella. "Can we work on that when the Games are over?"

She gives him a confused look but nods her head as she writes down a note at this. "Of course, I'm always up for improving education."

Xavier nods at her before turning back to Seraphim, giving him a hand gesture to continue. "So Fox," Seraphim continues as he pulls up a picture to show the President, "Is married and he has his own family already. Two year old Maddox Durham and his once again pregnant wife Paloma."

"Pregnant wife?" Xavier asks for confirmation, waiting for Seraphim to nod. "Very good motivation for him to win then. We'll have to wait and see just how badly he wants to win for his children." Xavier lets out a sigh as he leans back in his chair and stares at Seraphim for a few seconds. "Last District."

"District Eleven," Seraphim nods as he brings up the images of the last two tributes to discuss. "I'm guessing you'd like to start with Jessamine?"

"Of course," Xavier responds, a little amused that Seraphim knew him well enough. "Please give me confirmation that she is deaf."

"She is," Seraphim agrees with him. It was evident just from the Reaping that that's the case before Seraphim even saw a single medical note. "Her parents struggled for years to have kids so Jessamine and her twin brother were a late pregnancy. Jessamine was born deaf and her twin brother is autistic. Overall seems like a good family and there's no bad reports about any of them. But then again, she's homeschooled so we can't exactly pull up school reports."

It's silent in the office for a few seconds until Rosabella finally clears her throat and they all look over at her. "So…is now an appropriate time to ask if we're going to make her deaf _and_ blind?"

All eyes turn to Seraphim but he just meets the President's gaze, knowing it will be his call on that. Seraphim always knows the answer, but still, he will do whatever Xavier asks of him. "Seraphim…I trust you to make the correct call here."

Seraphim slowly nods his head, having a feeling he knows what Xavier's definition of the correct call is, but still worried that he might mess up. "Yes sir," he answers quietly, hoping he is making the correct choice. "I'll do my best."

"Good," Xavier answers with a small, emotionless smile. "And lastly, Arthur?"

"Someone who might do very well at surviving in the arena," Seraphim pauses to chuckle a little at his arena plans. "Well, maybe more so in other years. But he leads a search and rescue team in Eleven and when he's not out on missions, he runs a survival gear shop that used to be his father's."

"Used to be?" Xavier questions with an eyebrow raised.

"Died rescuing a family from a fire," Seraphim reads from the notes before setting the tablet down on his lap, having all the information he needs. "Arthur is going to be more than capable at the survival aspects so I'm curious to see how he will handle both the twist and killing."

"I'm curious about all of them," Xavier answers calmly as he meets Seraphim's gaze. The Head Gamemaker does his best to return it and hide how nervous he is about making sure he impresses the President. "There's obviously ones that we need to watch for. We will need to handle the situation with Adam carefully. Keep watching to make sure we don't miss any other rebels. And then there's the matter of handling Carameuse…"

"Well…" Seraphim starts, starting to have a bit of an idea for the arena events. "I was going to wait until I saw what interactions happen in training to plan out the events in the arena. But…"

"But perhaps we can pick Carameuse for one," Xavier finishes and Seraphim nods his head at this. "Do it. Pick whoever else you see fit just-"

The door bursts open, revealing a very frazzled Ophelia as she holds up her phone to her ear. "Sir!"

Seraphim jumps up right away, immediately concerned for the wellbeing of his closest friend. "Ophelia! What's wrong?" His assistant ignores him and walks straight over to the desk. She stares down at the President, a look on her face that Seraphim has never seen before from her and it's scaring him. "Ophelia, talk, you're scaring me."

"Sir," Ophelia says as she stares down the President, her chest heaving with deep breaths. "I just got reports from the check in for District Seven."

"And?" Xavier asks, concern immediately filling his face as he stands up to look Ophelia in the eye. "What's happened in Seven?"

Ophelia hesitates as she looks around at the others, only making Seraphim grow more concerned for her. "No one named Carameuse Juniper checked in today."

Everyone in the room tenses up and a thick silence fills the room as they all look over at Xavier with various looks of confusion on their faces. Xavier takes his time forming his response and slowly looks over at Seraphim, finally letting the emotions fill his face. "Then who the hell did we reap?"

* * *

 **Who did they pick if not Carameuse? Guess you'll just have to wait to find out hehe.**

 **So there we go, our reaping recap to remind you of all the tributes, give a bit more background on some of them, and also throw in a little bit of subplot! What did you find the most interesting thing to learn? What subplot thing surprised you? What could be these "arena events" that Seraphim is thinking about? And what was your favorite line from Theodosius? He's my new favorite character for giving commentary lol.**

 **Alrighty, I will see you within four weeks for the train rides with Bell and Cal! That chapter is already written and I just got Day One done for Wayward so we're on track to keep having frequent updates!**


	18. Train Rides: Mistakes

**Chapter 14:**

 _Bellona "Bell" Silvanus, 18, District Two_

Bell had never expected to have any regrets about volunteering for the Games. After all, it's what she's been training for years to do. The ultimate test, especially with the Quell twist this year. If she can win this, she'll have won the ultimate test of survival and intelligence. So if someone would have told her months ago that she would be sitting on the train and feeling anything less than excited about heading towards the Capitol and unable to focus on analyzing the other tributes, she would have laughed in their face and told them how wrong they would be.

But a few months ago was before she got to know Odyssey Gunderson. Bell never should have gone along with Kat's plan for them to get to know each other. Oh it worked, a little _too_ well. Because when Bell stood up on that stage with Odyssey at the Reaping, she felt something in her she never anticipated: fear over losing him.

It was in that moment that Bell knew she fucked up.

She's trying her best to focus on the Reaping Recaps, but it's so hard to with Odyssey sitting next to her and cracking jokes. She can't just ignore her District partner, not when they need to do their best to work together. But, that's the problem, being together…

"I don't think the careers are going to be that much of a problem," Kat tells them, sitting smugly as she looks at her two chosen volunteers. "Anastacia may be a threat but I wouldn't say that about Major, he looks like he might cry if he breaks a nail."

"Hopefully he doesn't give us any _major_ problems," Odyssey says, turning to look over at Bell with a cute little grin on his face, just to see how she reacts to his joke.

Bell smiles a bit at him, mostly from him looking adorable, but it soon fades when she realizes what she's doing. Shit…she is so fucked.

"Excuse me," Bell says quietly as she stands up, trying to ignore the concerned look from Odyssey. Damn it, why does he have to care about her? Why does she have to care that he cares?

"Are you alright?" Odyssey asks her, all joking gone from his tone as he stares up at her.

"Yeah," Bell answers, clearing her throat and trying not to look down at him as he starts frowning a bit, picking up on the fact that she clearly isn't alright. "I just need a minute," she tells them before starting to walk briskly over to the next train car.

When the door is shut behind her, Bell leans against it, shuts her eyes, and just starts shaking her head at herself. "You're a damn fool, Bell." She thought she was smart by getting to know him and figure out his strengths and weaknesses. But turns out she was just giving herself a huge weakness. "Damn it," she mutters before opening her eyes and storming into the room. She stops in front of one of the windows, watching the mountains fly past as they head into the Capitol.

Why did she have to catch feelings for Odyssey? She's done so well of keeping her focus on training for all these years and not letting anyone distract her from her goal. She never placed her trust in anyone that could steal her heart and make her not want to volunteer. There just wasn't any option other than volunteering. She wants to be here, at least she's not doubting that at all. If she didn't, she never would have gone to the steps she did last year to make sure the only really competition she had got to volunteer early. She just doesn't want to be here with a boy she wants to be with. There's no chance she'll ever have a happy ending with him…

And what a shitty feeling that is.

Bell can hear the door slide open and lets out a sigh at the footsteps approaching her but doesn't look over, not wanting him to see her face and find out her weakness. "Odyssey, I'm fine, I just need a minute…"

"Not Odyssey," a deep voice tells her and Bell turns right away to look over at one of her mentors, letting her surprise show on her face as Darach raises an eyebrow at her. "But interesting that you were expecting it to be Odyssey, not your mentor."

Bell turns away immediately, hating that she can feel her face heating up in embarrassment that she wanted it to be Odyssey there, not Darach. "I just expected him to follow after me."

"Expected?" Darach asks as he starts walking over towards her and Bell keeps her gaze turned away from him, knowing her face is giving away her response and she doesn't like it. She's supposed to be the one getting information like this from people so she can use it against them, not giving people stuff about her. "So…" Darach starts as he stands next to her, tucking his hands into his pockets as they both stare out the window in silence for a few seconds. "Do you…want to talk about what's going on? I know I'm not that good with the whole feelings thing, but it's important we know what's going on."

Bell sighs at him as she contemplates if she should tell him the truth. She doesn't trust him to not tell Glacia and they might tell Kat…and what if Kat tells Odyssey? No, she can't let Odyssey find out how she feels because if he rejects her, she doesn't know how she'll react…and she doesn't want this boy to ruin her shot at winning.

"Is it something with Odyssey?" Darach asks her after a minute of her staying silent. She simply nods her head at him and he sighs loudly at this. She can see him run a hand through his hair out of the corner of her eye as he turns to face her. "Do you not like him?"

"Quite the opposite," Bell scoffs at this and shakes her head at herself once more. She's such an idiot.

"You… _Oh._ " Darach responds after a few seconds and Bell finally glances over at him to see all over his face that he figured it out. "Oh fuck, not again. Glacia!"

Bell looks up at him in surprise that he's calling in his wife for help, but when she hears the door open and sees Glacia walking in quickly, baby propped on one hip and looking ready to take on anything, Bell knows she's in trouble. "What's going on?"

Darach looks at his wife and daughter with a proud expression before turning to Bell and looking at her with a firm look that would have absolutely terrified her if she hadn't just seen the man absolutely melt around his young daughter. "Well? Go ahead and tell her."

Bell sighs at this, not exactly wanting to tell all of them what she's feeling, but at the same time, she's smart enough to know it's best just to get it over with now. Darach will just end up telling Glacia later. "I…messed up and caught feelings for Odyssey and now regret getting close to him."

Glacia just stares at Bell with an expressionless face for a good minute and Bell tries not to back down from her gaze. Then out of nowhere, Glacia steps forward and smacks Bell on the back of the head, all while not disturbing her sleeping daughter in her other arm. "I thought you were smarter than that!"

"Ow," Bell mutters as she rubs the back of her head. "What was that for?"

"For being a dumbass who caught feelings," Glacia retorts, shaking her head and looking absolutely disappointed in Bell. The woman turns to her husband, exasperated look on her face, "How did I get talked into mentoring the one time the tributes are in love with each other?"

"Hey I did not say that," Bell quickly defends herself, but hesitates for a few seconds because she honestly doesn't even know what love is like. How is she to know that she isn't in love? "And he's not in love with me," Bell adds bitterly, even if it's better that she never knows how he feels. Easier for her to move on if she wins.

"Do you know that for sure?" Glacia asks and Bell shakes her head, making her mentor sigh once more at her. "Sorry for hitting you, but seriously? Did you watch what happened in my Games at all?"

"Of course I've seen the last Quell," Bell defends, almost a little offended that Glacia is questioning how prepared she is. "Kat made us study the last two Quells to anticipate the kinds of things they might do."

"Then you know exactly what happened to my District partner," Glacia sighs heavily as a frown starts to form on her face. She adjusts her hold on her daughter, staring down at her sleeping face for a few seconds as Darach puts a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Lance stupidly caught feelings for someone else going into the Games and he paid the ultimate price for it." She brings up her gaze to Bell and there's no question at all what that price was. After all, she's standing in front of the victor of those Games. "They both did. Please…please don't let that happen to you."

"I don't intend on letting that happen," Bell tries to reassure her, yet deep down she feels a bit of self-doubt rising in her. Is she really going to be able to just watch Odyssey die? Or what happens if they make it to the final two just like they've promised to Kat and all the victors to guarantee a victory for Two? Would she be able to kill him if it meant living? Her heart hurts at that thought and she shakes her head, desperately hoping it won't come down to that situation. "At least, I don't plan on it…"

Darach and Glacia share a look at this and Bell watches them, needing some advice from her mentors on how to make sure she doesn't do something stupid for Odyssey because right now, for probably the first time, she's thinking with her heart instead of her head. "You need to stop being so friendly with him," Glacia starts telling her and when she turns back to Bell, she can see the pain her mentor is trying to hold back in her eyes.

"But Kat has been very specific about us working together," Bell points out the obvious, all of them knowing exactly what the leader of the training center has instructed them to do. "And I don't know about you two but I don't want to piss her off."

"You can still work together without being all buddy buddy with him," Darach responds and Glacia slowly nods her head, even if she doesn't look fully convinced by this. "You can still be a team without being lovers."

"We are not lovers," Bell quickly says, not wanting to start thinking about the idea of that because it will just hurt her since it will never happen.

"Good," Glacia says sharply and stands up taller, looking ready to scold her. "Listen to me carefully. Love in the arena will never end well. And you cannot let Kat know about this or she will cut off support to you for threatening Two's chance at victory." Bell raises her eyebrows at this, along with Darach, both of them clearly shocked by Glacia's suggestion. "You heard me right," Glacia continues, pointing her finger at both of them. "Not a word to her. And Bell, we are going to get it through your thick skull that you absolutely _cannot_ have feelings for Odyssey."

"I'm not thick," Bell crosses her arms at her mentor, just getting a single eyebrow raised from Glacia. "Just tell me what to do."

"Talk to Odyssey only in group settings with us," Glacia starts listing off ideas on her fingers and Bell nods her head along, internalizing each thing. She is not going to die for this reason. "Focus on talking to the other careers in training. Always remember that there is only one person allowed to live and keep reminding yourself that you will have to see him die if you are going to win."

Bell hesitates to nod at the last one…but Glacia is right. She needs to start telling herself now that there is no future with her and Odyssey alive, as much as it hurts her. "Okay," she says with a deep breath. "I can do that." Glacia looks over at Darach, seemingly doubting her and anger lights up in her. "I will, just watch me!"

"There we go," Glacia says with a bit of a smirk. "There's the fire that convinced me to mentor. Alright, time for your first test at putting aside your feelings," Glacia gestures over to the door. "We don't want Kat to start questioning what is happening, although I'm going to have to come up with some excuse."

"I can do this," Bell tells herself, taking a deep breath and putting back her shoulders as she stares down the door. After all, this is what she's been working towards for years. She hasn't let a boy distract her before and she won't let that happen when it matters most.

Bell starts walking back to the other train car, determined to focus on everything but Odyssey. But when the doors open, she immediately sees him pacing around and he looks up at her right away, giving her an adorable and concerned smile. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, things are fine," Bell answers him with a small smile, immediately doing everything Glacia just told her not to do. She just can't help it when he looks all concerned about her and her heart betrays the logical part of her, telling her that he was concerned because he really cares about her as a person, not just as his District partner he's been forced to work with. She clears her throat when she gets a poignant look from Glacia as her mentor walks passed her, knowing exactly what Bell just did.

Fuck…there's no way she's ignoring her feelings for him.

* * *

 _Calvin "Cal" Tailor, 18, District Three_

Cal wishes the four women he's with would just sit down already and get to focusing on the important task at hand: getting them out of the arena alive. All of them are so focused on figuring out how the two of them were picked when they weren't supposed to be and whether Matla and Isidore should even be mentoring them or if they should get someone from Eight and Six for them. But Cal's been focusing on the one thing he's focused on for years now, and that's protecting Indy. No way is he going to stop now from being the best he can for Indy.

"I just can't believe this has happened," Rosalind repeats for probably the one hundredth time in the last hour, shaking her head as they sit on the couches in the train car designating as a sitting room. "I feel like such a failure for picking you two."

"You're not a failure," Amelia speaks up quietly, hesitating to reach out to the escort. She finally decides to start gently patting the woman's shoulder and gets a teary eyed look from Rosalind. "Surely someone will realize this was a mistake…"

"And what?" Cal finally speaks up, tired of sitting around and doing nothing. They're wasting time, precious time that could mean the difference between life or death. All four of them turn to look at him and he meets all of their gazes before continuing, "Wait for them to pick two other kids actually from Three to go in instead? No, that's not going to happen. And the sooner you all realize that, the sooner we can start preparing to stay alive." Cal turns to look at his District partner, feeling a bit of…aversion towards her. After all, he went through the same thing as her and didn't spend the whole year after moping around. "I don't know about you, but I'm not ending up like my brother. If you're the same way, cool, we can be allies then. But if not…I'm not wasting time with someone that isn't dedicated to winning, no offense… So if you don't mind, I would like to start preparing."

Amelia stares over at him, opening and closing her mouth a couple times, giving him a clear answer on if she'll be a good ally. "I…"

"We don't have to be allies," Cal responds to her as he reaches into his pocket, pulling out a piece of fabric that he ripped off from a shirt in his room on the train. "I already have ideas on who I want to ally with."

"I'm not giving up," Amelia finally tells him, her voice wavering just a little bit. But for the first time since they entered the program, he sees something other than sadness in her eyes. Now there's the smallest spark of determination in there that makes him think that she will try to fight so she doesn't end up like Aero. Well, he sees it up until he brings the piece of fabric up to his eyes and starts tying it in the back. "What are you doing?"

"Getting prepared," Cal answers calmly as he finishes tying the fabric and adjusts it so it completely blocks out his vision. "I doubt they'll give us stuff in training to practice losing our senses so I'm going to make sure I'm preparing now in case I lose my sight."

Cal finally gets a response from the mentors at this point and gets a laugh from Dr. Jarend. "You're right, we need to start preparing you now. If you're alright with it, I'll mentor Cal."

"That's cool with me, Dr. Jarend," Cal responds coolly to her, knowing she's been mentoring more frequently in recent years than Isidore and he wants the stronger mentor. He turns his head in the direction she thinks she's in to keep addressing her. "Perhaps we can talk in private?"

"Oh!" Rosalind says suddenly and Cal turns in her direction, trying to get used to knowing how far someone is from him based on just hearing. Sight could be the most dangerous sense to lose and he wants to make sure if that happens, he's ready, even if he's hoping he doesn't have that 1 in 5 chance. "I just got a response from the Capitol about what we should be doing. Let's see…Seraphim says they're looking into what happened and that you two will be representing District Three and be mentored by the victors from there, regardless of your home Districts…"

"See?" Cal asks them, pausing a little at his choice of words considering he cannot in fact see right now. "Now can we stop sitting around and get training? I'm not losing."

"Well I-I'm not either," Amelia speaks up, trying to sound as confident as him but failing. But unlike the times he's seen her talking in class or to the others in the program, she's not just the hollow shell. Maybe the Games are the thing that she needed to get stronger, just like it was his parents abandoning him and Indy that motivated him. But…no, he can't care about her, not when it's her life or his.

"Well," Isidore starts and Cal turns his head towards her. "I wouldn't have boarded the train if I didn't intend on mentoring you two, and same thing with Matla. As far as I'm concerned, you're from District Three and we're going to treat you the same exact way as we would anyone else."

"Maybe a bit more?" Rosalind asks them, even laughing nervously. "After all, these two _were_ handpicked by the President himself to study in District Three. So maybe they get extra focus…?"

"Rosalind, we put in all of our effort every year to get the tributes home," Dr. Jarend cooly responds to the escort. "This year won't be any different. Now, do you two want to be mentored separately or together?"

"Separately," Cal answers immediately, needing no time to think it over. After all, it's every person for themselves in the arena. He doesn't truly know Amelia. He's not taking the risk of her revealing any plans of his to the other tributes.

"Separately, I guess," Amelia quietly says, not sounding too happy about it, but that's not Cal's problem.

"Alright, Cal, let's go," Dr. Jarend tells him and he stands up, not sure where she wants him to go. "This way," she says as she starts walking over to the next train car and he focuses on her footsteps so he can follow her. He bumps into the end of the couch and rubs the spot on his hip for a moment for continuing after his mentor. He takes slow steps, gently feeling ahead with his foot so as to not bump into anything else. He knows this isn't going to work in the arena when he might be running for his life, but that's why he's practicing now. He starts thinking he's close to the door and holds out his hand, waving it around and hitting the wall. "That was almost my head," Dr. Jarend says as he steps past her, hearing the door close behind him.

"Apologies, Dr. Jarend, but better to mess up now than in the arena," Cal tells her, knowing she must understand why he's training now.

"You're right," she answers from behind him, letting him find his way around the room to the dining room table, only running into one of the chairs a little bit. He slowly sits down, feeling around on the table and knocking a glass over, making it shatter on the table before he finds a steak knife. He awkwardly grasps it, trying to get a feel for what it's like to be holding a knife… After all, it's likely he'll end up with a knife in the arena since they're always the most readily available weapon. "So first things first, stop calling me Dr. Jarend," his mentor says as she sits down with him at the table. "Matla is just fine. Second, don't take off that piece of fabric whenever you're out of training. Hell, keep it on during training as well if they let you."

"That's my plan, ma'am," Cal responds, still feeling weird calling his professor by her first name, even if they're no longer in an academic setting.

"Good," Matla says, starting to tap her fingers on the table, or, at least, that's what Cal assumes is the tapping noise. "I've been doing a lot of thinking about the Quell twist and wanting to know just how they're going to take away your senses. Lukianas wouldn't tell me how but I've been thinking… And I think they're going to find some way to make sure that each sense can be deadly in that arena."

Cal nods his head at this, taking in every bit of advice she has to offer to him. After all, she proved to be the strongest her year by winning. "How should I prepare?"

"I think sight will be the worst sense to lose because we're so dependent on it," Matla starts and Cal finds himself nodding in agreement with her. "So you're on the right track there. Hearing can be bad but not to the same level of sight. I can try to see if I can get you some headphones to wear so you can train with that. As for taste and smell, don't trust any food you find in the arena. I'm guessing it's going to be a plant based arena with lots of things for you all to find that are poisonous. If you lose smell, watch for any areas that are void of any creatures. They love making the arenas as realistic as possible and there will be bugs, but even bugs don't like toxic fumes."

"And touch?" Cal asks when she falls quiet before talking about the fifth sense. "What about that?"

Matla is quiet for a minute and Cal stares in her direction while focusing on all the sounds around him. If he listens close enough, he can just barely hear her breathing…and if he can hear that, he can detect a tribute in the arena. "Don't underestimate how bad losing touch might be."

"How so?" Cal questions, knowing he was lucky to get a scientist as his mentor. Who else is going to be getting this kind of information? It's one thing he can have as an advantage to be stronger than the others and he is going to use every bit of information he gets from her.

"People don't realize just how much is involved in our sense of touch," Matla sighs and Cal hears the chair creaking as she moves in it. "We can detect pressure, temperature, pain, and more through touch. Lose your sense of touch and you might not realize if you're in an area that's too hot or too cold, or if you're standing in a way that's going to damage your feet, or even know if you've been injured."

Cal stares over in her direction, just now fully grasping the magnitude of what it would be like to lose that sense. He lifts up his blindfold so he can stare at his mentor, squinting for just a moment against the lights on the train. "How do I prepare for that?"

"You can't," Matla responds and Cal shakes his head at this, refusing to believe that there isn't some sort of way for him to prepare. There has to be some sort of way. "You don't believe me?"

"No," Cal tells her, still shaking his head. "I can't because I've spent the last few years preparing in any way I possibly can to be the strongest version of myself. I had both parents walk out on me and my brother because they 'weren't strong enough'," Cal makes air quotes with his hands before dropping them into his lap, suddenly missing his brother so much… He didn't really get to say goodbye to him, that phone call they allowed him barely counts. "I can't just accept that there isn't a way to prepare for losing my feeling of touch. I won't give up on Indy like that."

"Good, I want to be mentoring a victor this year. Last year was…" Matla lets out a sigh and Cal knows who she's talking about. Everyone was paying attention to her tribute last year. "Jarvis was a good man and his death took an emotional toll on me. I would like to avoid that this year, if possible." A smile slowly starts to form on her face as she stares him down. "The determination that you have… That's the kind of determination that makes people win."

"I have to win," Cal says softly, his mind putting the terrible image in his head of Indy having to watch his death, leaving him all alone… "Indy already lost Bishop years ago. I can't let him lose me, even if I feel like I abandoned him by going to Three."

"You haven't abandoned him to go to school," Matla reassures him, but still, the feeling lingers. "You're not going to get back to him by focusing on the past so put that blindfold back down. We're getting you out of that arena alive."

"Yes ma'am," Cal listens to his mentor's advice and puts the blindfold back over his eyes, trying to get used to the deprivation of his sight and using his hearing to guide him.

"Now tell me who you want to be allies with."

* * *

 **We have officially kicked off the pre-Games chapters! I'm so hyped about what I have planned and all the interactions that will be going on between the tributes. The pre-Games stuff might just be my favorite stuff to write in these stories because there's so many fun things to do and alliances to set up.**

 **Speaking of alliances, thoughts on which ones will form? How will the career dynamic be impacted by Bell's feelings? Does Odyssey return them? And who do you think Cal wants to be allies with?**

 **Next up we will be checking in with Fete and Not Carameuse (TM) for the preparations before the chariots! Hopefully that will be up before my semester ends mid-May, but we're reaching my busiest time so I'm not sure when I will get Wayward Night One written. So hopefully I will see you soon!**


	19. Preparations

**Trigger warning: dysphoria in Fete's section.**

* * *

 **Chapter 15:**

 _Fete Bayard, 18, District Eight_

"Atropa, just stop already. Your plan isn't going to work."

"It will if it's what is meant to be," Atropa ominously tells him, only making him shake his head at his best friend as Devrek leads them into the preparation area. Fete isn't sure what's been more irritating: Atropa insisting she's getting him out alive or Devrek's screeching recorder that has interrupted his naps.

"My cats need you to win for them," Fete gives her a pointed look, hoping she'll finally stop her futile attempt to get him out alive. Will either of them be successful in their attempt to get the other out of the arena alive? Or are they both just going to crash and burn as they try to save the other? "Norman needs…"

He trails off as they enter the area and he finds himself in a pathway with sectioned off areas on either side, the tributes only separated by thin curtains between each other. Some of the careers stare him down as they pass and Fete meets their gaze, letting out a big yawn as he looks at them. He turns back to Atropa, ready for both a nap and to keep convincing her to get home to take care of his cats. "Honestly Atropa, I'll probably just be killed in my sleep by one of these lunatics that have trained to murder children so you might as well get home to Norman."

"Not if I can help!" Devrek turns back around to grin at them, still holding on to that damn ear-piercing recorder. Well, a different recorder than the one from the Reaping since Astrid snapped that one in two on the train, much to Fete's delight. But they were all disappointed when he revealed he had enough recorders for all of them. "I'm going to get you so many sponsors by impressing them with my mad skills."

Fete and Atropa share a look at this, leaving her to snicker and Fete with a smug look on his face. "Sure," he responds sarcastically, "Because they'll want to sponsor us because of you, not because our mentors are the most recent victor, the woman who got said victor home, and a Quell victor."

For a second, Devrek looks hurt by Fete's snark that he just can't hold back anymore – what's the point when he'll be dead soon – until he gets a big grin on his face and points his recorder at Fete. "You got me there," Devrek chuckles at this as he comes to a stop in front of two empty sections at the end. "I guess this is your spot?" He looks around for some sort of indication before turning back to them and shrugging.

Atropa looks at Fete as he tries to ignore the girl across from them raising her voice in fear of needles and trying to squirm away from them, but there's nowhere for her to go. "Alright feet boy, don't sass the stylist too much."

"I will if their work is trash," he responds, not feeling too hopeful about their costumes being good – after all, just look at last year's – before heading into his section and taking a seat, waiting for when people will be over to poke him with needles and do whatever they want. He stares across at the boy from Seven and slowly a terrible pit starts forming in his stomach that he hasn't felt to this extent in months…

Thoughts he does his best to push back manage to find their way into his brain against his will as he stares over at Adam, conflicted about the man. They're the same age. They're both trans. That could have been him – well…not really, but still… His hands slowly move over his flat stomach, hating the thoughts in his brain about what pregnancy would have done to him. Adam glances over at him and tries to give him a smile, which makes Fete feel even worse from the dysphoria twisting away his stomach and bringing him back years ago. He shuts his eyes, trying to block out the dysphoric thoughts he normally is so good at keeping out. "That's not you, Fete," he mutters to himself. "You'll never be in that situation, most likely because you'll be dead in a few days."

Yet despite it all, he almost wants to talk to Adam…one trans man to another. But he can't. Not when he needs to focus on Atropa getting home for his cats. He can't have someone else he wants to win the Games instead… But maybe they could have him as an ally? No, Atropa probably won't want Adam as their ally…

Fete takes a deep breath before adjusting how he sits into a more comfortable position. He tries to keep his thoughts on Atropa and his cats, yet the thought of his best friend dying and leaving his cats alone has him feeling just as shitty as seeing Adam made him feel. He has to get her home to them. It's his dying wish – and he knows he's going to die in that arena. There's simply no way he'll be able to win against everyone here. He's not going to lie to himself about his odds.

"Excuse me."

Fete cracks open one eye to see who interrupted him from the nap he was about to have and finds a woman with magenta hair who's probably in her twenties staring at him with a timid smile on her face. He opens both eyes when he sees the man in a lab coat next to her, holding a tray of needles. "Come to make sure I'm as healthy as can be before putting me in a death match?"

"I'm sure she's just trying to help you out, dude!" Devrek says quickly, surprising Fete as he has no clue why the escort is still here. He looks over at his escort, finding him clutching his recorder with both hands in front of his chest and grinning at the girl, making Fete shake his head at the look of puppy love on his face. "Right?"

"Well, yes," she says hesitantly and tries to smile at him a bit as her cheeks get a pinkish hue. God, Fete wants to barf at this. He wishes Atropa was right next to him to witness this. "We need to take a blood sample and then gives you a few shots – some antibiotics and other stuff to get your health at its best before the Games start. And the sens-" She cuts herself off before finishing her sentence and Fete lazily raises an eyebrow at her, actually finding the motivation to care about what she was going to say if she was really going to talk about how the sick bastards are taking away their senses. But she quickly clears her throat and motions for the medical staff to do his job.

In a matter of seconds, Fete's elbow is pricked with an intravenous needle and he just stares at the man blankly. "Ow," he says monotonously, feeling the need to acknowledge the needle in some way. Yet the man ignores him as he starts to draw blood into a tiny vial. Fete watches as it fills, starting to wonder how much blood he'll see spilled around him in the arena. In a matter of seconds, the vial is filled and the man switches over to injecting the contents of the large syringe into Fete, leaving him squirming a little at the knowledge they've put something in him to take away his senses. There's got to be something in there to fulfill the Quell twist.

He keeps waiting to feel something to his senses, some sort of sign that will tell him which sense he's going to lose – _please_ not his sight – yet seconds tick by as the technician removes the needle and places gauze over the spot to stop the bleeding, and Fete feels…just like his normal tired self. "Keep this elevated for a few minutes," the technician instructs Fete, but he just stares at the man, keeping his elbow right where it was. The older man lets out a sigh before putting a bandage over it and stepping back. "Suit yourself. He's all set."

"Great," the woman says, but lingers for a moment as she glances over at Devrek, making Fete roll his eyes. "Well, on to the next one."

"Wait," Devrek says as she turns around to leave and she stops right away, almost as if she was hoping he would say something. "What's your name?"

"Laelia," she answers with a small smile before leaving to head over to the District Nine tributes with the technician.

Devrek lets out a sigh as he watches her leave before turning to look at Fete with a look that makes him want to vomit. "Fete, I'm going to marry that woman someday."

"Good for you," Fete answers as he shuts his eyes and crosses his arms, trying to get back to napping. "Must be nice to know you'll live past the next three weeks. And what are you even doing here?"

"Well to be honest, I don't really know what I'm supposed to be doing right now."

Fete sighs loudly at this, already feeling like he's falling asleep and not wanting to put up with the escort any longer. "Why don't you go check on Atropa?" Fete asks him, only feeling slightly bad for making his best friend deal with him. But better for her to get to know him so she can get the sponsors from him. Maybe if she's friendlier with Devrek, he'll be more inclined to see she's District Eight's better option.

"I heard that, feet boy!"

"Great idea," Devrek responds and Fete cracks open an eye to verify that the escort is really leaving him alone.

Fete lets out a small sigh of content that he can finally just nap and shuts his eyes tightly shut. He easily blocks out the sounds of the other tributes as they deal with their prep teams to start sleeping.

"Wakey wakey!" Someone practically screeches in Fete's ears and he groans loudly in annoyance at them before turning to ignore them, trying to keep sleeping. "No time to sleep!"

Someone grabs onto his arm and Fete quickly opens his eyes to glare at them as he pulls his arm away. "I would much rather be sleeping than get put through your torture."

The person gasps in shock and Fete can hear Atropa chuckle from next to him. "So rude. That is no way to treat the assistants for your stylist!"

Right…his stylist. He can't wait to see what terrible outfit they make from him. He's absolutely positive he could make something better than the atrocity they have made for him. "I'm a stylist," he says as he sticks out his chest a bit.

"Oh that's wonderful," they respond absentmindedly as they pull on his arm once more to get him to stand up. He grunts in annoyance at this as they pull out a tape measure and start recording all sorts of details about him. As annoyed as he is with them, he stays still, having been the other person in this situation many times and having to control his snarky remarks at the brides who won't stay put. "I bet you could learn a ton from Jared!"

"I doubt it," Fete mutters to himself and snickers. He's seen the atrocious costumes the stylists make for District Eight. Just look at the mess that Clark wore last year. There's no doubt in Fete's mind that whatever they have made, he could do better.

"I think you'll really like the outfit!" They continue as they write down his measurements, blissfully unaware of Fete's comment or choosing to ignore him. "Jared and Eilna have made a great set of matching costumes for you and Atropa."

Well at least he'll look like a mess with his best friend. As much as he knows they need to look good…he's not very hopeful. He'll just have to find some other way to get the crowd to like Atropa so she'll live. "Were they the stylists for Eight last year?"

"Eilna was but Jared got promoted up from District Ten after Clark's stylist was promoted," they respond as they step back and roll up their measuring tape. "Alright come with me to the washing station."

District Ten…? Fete remembers all the costumes from last year's Games, having sat with Atropa and made fun of them together and commented on how he would improve them. Even if he hadn't done that, the District Ten costume would have stuck out in his mind forever. No one would have forgotten that look.

 _His stylist was the one that made the damn meat dress._

If Fete does somehow manage to win these Games, there is no way he will ever live down whatever atrocity he's being put in tonight. Maybe it will be better to die and not live with this humiliation. "Can't wait," Fete says with the biggest fake smile he can possibly give as he stands up to start following them out of the area. Maybe there's a chance to make sure all of his outfits and Atropa's aren't horrendous. Maybe he can make the Capitol forget tonight's outfit. If they say no, fine, but at least he can say he tried to help out his best friend. "Question for you."

"Oh go ahead!" They answer happily as they start leading him to the next room over. "I will do my very best to answer it."

"Do you think Jared and Eilna would be willing to discuss ideas for the interview outfit with me?"

* * *

 _The District 7 Female Tribute, 17_

She anxiously rubs the spot on her arm where the blood sample was drawn when she first arrived at the prep station, all too aware of what that kind of information could mean against her. Hours have ticked by with no one busting down the door, accusing her of her secrets… She's been allowed to go through what must be the normal process for tributes: having hair ripped out of everywhere, yelled at over the state of her blonde roots before making her hair completely brown once more, measured and pulled this way and that by a team that barely treated her as human. For some, they might be reassured that no one has questioned her yet. But not her. This is only making her more anxious with each passing second.

Why did she ever step into this lie? She should have ran away after the accident with Carameuse, not tried to be her. She never would have been reaped if she stayed herself. Yet it's too late and now the consequences of her fear in the moment keep piling up.

What chance does she even have if she's discovered? The only relief she has is what's hidden away in Carameuse's diary…yet they've even taken that from her. Will they find the one thing from the rebels that could save her?

And why have they just left her alone for so long? Shouldn't they have something more to do with her before the chariots? Not that she wants anything to do with the chariots. Going in front of that many people, all scrutinizing her? Just the thought is enough to nearly send her into a panic.

She jumps at a knock on the door to her room, letting out a tiny squeak of fear. The door soon opens, leaving her staring at the person entering it with wide eyes full of shock. She anxiously scrambles away from the President of Panem as he walks in, flanked by two guards and the scariest looking man she's ever seen. Yet there's nowhere for her to go and she presses herself against the wall, wishing she could disappear right into it.

 _This is it. She's done for._

"Miss Juniper," the President says as the door shuts behind him and the lock clicks into place, only causing her heart to start thumping in her chest. "But that's not your real name, is it?"

She looks at him, unable to meet his gaze for more than a fraction of a second at a time. Long seconds tick by in silence as he waits for her response and she tries to figure out what to say. Her mother has always told her to never tell anyone what she is. She's to stay quiet, out of sight from everyone, and silently deliver the rebel messages. But her mother never told her what to do in front of the person they're trying to overthrow.

The intimidating man steps forward, ignoring President Xavier trying to hold up a hand to stop him. He grabs onto her arm roughly, pulling her towards him as he scowls down at her. "Your president asked you a question, answer him!"

"Theodosius!" The President calls sharply at him, making the man – Theodosius – look back at him. "Bring her here."

"With pleasure," Theodosius responds before turning back to her, sneer on his face as he stares down at her in disgust. "You really thought you could get away with this? Rebel scum."

"I'm not a rebel!" She protests as she tries to pull her wrist out from his grasp, but his grip is vicelike as he drags her right in front of the President. She keeps her gaze down from him, afraid to meet his eyes as she's forced to stay put by a firm hand on her shoulder.

"I find that hard to believe, _Holly_ ," President Xavier tells her, finally making her meet his gaze in shock at hearing her real name for the first time in weeks. "Yes, Holly Alder, we know the truth about you."

Holly is silent for a moment, fear paralyzing her as the President stares at her with a disapproving gaze, before all of a sudden it's like a dam has broken and she can't control herself. "I didn't mean to kill her! She attacked me first and it was an accident, I swear!"

The President continues to stare at her, forcing her to look away as she bites her tongue, in disbelief and disappointed in herself that she told him that. Seconds pass by and she spares a quick glance up at him, finding him not looking at all surprised. How could he have known? "If you think you can come into the Hunger Games and bring down the country I have built up for decades, you and the other rebels are sorely mistaken. Your plan will fail. _You_ will fail. If you think I will allow a rebel to get out of the arena alive…you are sorely mistaken."

Holly lets out a small choked sob at this, her fears being confirmed… She's a dead person walking. "I-I'm not-"

"Not what?" President Xavier raises an eyebrow at her, waiting to see what she says. But she presses her lips together before trying to move a bit, wanting to hide against the wall, yet Theodosius' grip on her is firm. After giving her the chance to defend herself and claim she's not a rebel – even though they both know it – President Xavier motions to one of the guards with him. "Give her the tracker."

Holly tries to hide her arm as the guard steps forward, but in a flash, Theodosius pulls her arm out and presents it to the guard, perfect for injecting something into her. "I already got my tracker!" Holly tries to protest, squirming around to loosen the grip but it's no use. She can't escape. She starts breathing rapidly as the guard takes out a large needle, feeling trapped by all of this.

"This is something different," President Xavier responds coolly as the needle is stuck into bicep and she yelps at the sharp pain as something is pushed deep below the muscle. She looks at the spot on her arm as the needle is yanked out, watching blood quickly pool on her skin before a patch is placed over it. "This is something to ensure your silence about the rebels. It is not to track you in the arena or take away your senses…" The President falls quiet for a few seconds until Holly's curiosity gets the better of her and she looks up at him, then he responds. "It is to kill you if you speak one word about rebels. And I can promise you, it will be an extremely painful death, far worse than whatever fate with become you in the arena. If you don't think I am serious about this, go ahead and try. We can say a variety of excuses for why you are dead before the Games have started."

Holly's eyes widen in shock at him before staring down at her arm, bringing up her hand to the wound and pulling at the skin as if she can pull the tracker out of her. Yet whatever patch they placed on her has made the skin already start to heal. There's no use. They have her trapped even more than she already thought.

She won't dare challenge him. But now…now she can't try and get a secret message back to the rebels at home to notify them that it's her, Holly Alder, not Carameuse Juniper here. If they already know about her being a rebel, surely they must know the phrases…

They might as well just kill her now and get it over with.

Tears slip down her face before there's any chance of her stopping them and she quickly wipes away at them, not wanting them to see her crying. She doesn't want anyone seeing her crying…

"Are we clear?" President Xavier asks her and she slowly nods her head. At this, Theodosius lets go of her arm and returns back to the President's side. "Good. Best of luck, _Carameuse_."

With that, the door is unlocked and the President leaves her behind, followed closely by his guards. Theodosius lingers back to look at her, sneer still on his face as he crosses his arms at her. "You rebels are going to lose," he humorlessly chuckles at her and shakes his head before turning towards the door. "And you're going to die."

And with that, they leave her alone, slamming the door behind them. With another click of the lock, Holly chokes out a tiny sob, trying her damn best to hold back her emotions. She can't let them out, not when she's about to be paraded through the streets in front of the people that keep them all oppressed. As much as she wants to scream and cry at her fate, she must keep on a neutral face and hide her feelings. Or rather…Carameuse must hide her feelings.

And yet, Holly suddenly finds herself on the ground, not knowing how she got there, knees pulled up to her chest and arms wrapped around them. She can't do this. How is anyone supposed to go out in front of the entire country? All she wants to do is scream and cry and find some way to get past this tracker to let those back home know it's her – Holly, not Carameuse… But she can't take the risk of saying any of the rebel phrases. Maybe…maybe her mother will recognize her? Her mother that must be worried sick about her since she never returned home…

Holly takes a shaky breath, trying to bring her emotions under control. Nothing good has ever happened from letting her emotions run wild. She rests her head against her knees, taking deep, shuddering breaths as she tries to calm herself down, yet all she wants to do is cry. But the fear of what people will say if they see the puffy eyes from crying? She can't let them see her like that. She just can't.

Holly picks up her head suddenly, a realization suddenly crossing her mind. She won't be going out in front of the Capitol, _Carameuse_ , will be going out in front of the crowd. No one is going to see Holly Alder. They'll be looking at Carameuse Juniper. She can just keep acting as Carameuse and pretend that this isn't all happening.

And she is good at acting.

Holly looks around, wishing she had Carameuse's diary right now to read through it some more to find some example of how the girl would act in front of the crowd. And mostly to check that they haven't found the secret hiding in it… But another knock on the door has her tensing up before quickly standing up and wiping away tears from her eyes. She puts on a polite smile that Carameuse always gives as the door opens once more, revealing the person that must be her stylist.

"Hello, hello!" The woman cheerfully says as she enters the room, clapping her hands in excitement. Holly tries to force a smile at her, knowing it's what Carameuse would do, yet her fear of the President makes her probably look more like she's grimacing. "Time to get you all ready to go for the chariots! Now we have something cool for you – even if my creativity had to be limited by Seraphim's instructions but for not being fashionable at all, he didn't do too bad with the idea. Oh!" The woman suddenly stops and puts a hand over her chest before frowning dramatically at Holly. "I am so sorry, I haven't introduced myself! I am your stylist, Honey!"

"I'm…Carameuse," Holly answers hesitantly and slowly takes the hand covered in rings. Once in Honey's grip, her hand is shaken vigorously, all while the stylist smiles at her. But Holly can't smile, too concerned about what she said about the Head Gamemaker. Is he purposely targeting her with a terrible outfit? Trying to get her to lose all sponsors from the very start? "Seraphim's instructions…?" She asks carefully, not quite sure if she wants to know the answer.

"Yes, yes," Honey responds and gestures behind her for her team to bring in the outfit in the garment bag. "Seraphim wants to have a _theme_ ," she gives a dramatic gesture at the word 'theme' and shrugs at Holly. "So we were told to work together with the other stylist in our District to coordinate outfits and stay within the instructions he told us. So here we are," Honey unzips the bag, revealing an outfit that is not terrible like Holly was starting to dread, before turning back to her, still grinning.

"Now let's get you in this outfit so you can dazzle the crowd!"

* * *

 **It's been a hot minute since we last updated this but it's summer time, so you know that means it's time to crank out some updates! And now we're really going to get into all the fun interactions between the tributes!**

 **So here we see a bit of insight into how the senses are going to get taken away from the tributes. But you know I'm not revealing which sense they're going to be losing yet ;) And of course we need to get a bit of subplot!**

 **So thoughts on this chapter? Will Fete or Atropa succeed at keeping the other alive? What will happen to Holly aka Not Carameuse (TM)? And what could she have hidden in her diary? ~All will be revealed eventually~**

 **Alright next up we'll be checking in with Seraphim for the chariot rides! Any guesses on what the theme could be? That chapter is all written so I'll be able to get that posted once I post Wayward Day Two which I've wrapped up already! I'm still going to be alternating updates between these two stories unless I say otherwise. Both updates will be up before June 1st so see you soon :)**


	20. The Chariot Rides

**Chapter 16:**

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

Seraphim hasn't been able to get rid of the anxious pit in his stomach that's been present ever since the day prior when they discovered one of the reaped tributes is not who they thought. He keeps getting phantom pains in his arm as he stresses about Carameuse – no, _Holly_ – and he's reminded too frequently of last year's Games when he was shot, all because of a rebel from Seven…

And now that rebel is out and he can't help but feel like they're going to do something to the Quell he's worked so hard on. But mostly he's afraid they're going to hurt someone he cares about.

Seraphim glances over at his mother next to him and when she sees his anxious face, Tara Lukianas immediately runs a hand over his hair with a concerned look in her eyes. "Everything is going to be okay, Serry."

"Mom, don't call me that in public," Seraphim tells her, looking around backstage before they head out to the box they'll sit in with all the other important people in the Capitol, really hoping none of them heard her call him the nickname he loves, but gets super embarrassed by when in public. "I'm the Head Gamemaker."

"Yes, and I'm your mother," Tara scoffs lovingly at him as she grabs his hand and pats the top of it with the other. Seraphim keeps looking around at the others in the box and from the amused look on Theodosius' face, he knows the terrifying man from Two overheard his nickname. He mouths 'Serry' to him, holding back a snicker that leaves Seraphim mortified. "Stop worrying, everything is going to be alright."

"I'm worried for your safety," Seraphim says quietly, turning his eyes back to the screens in front of him that show the tributes slowly arriving to the chariots where they're being instructed not to step on yet. A few of them are curiously looking at the fake weapons placed for each of them, seemingly wondering if they're real. Well, mostly Sky looks like she's contemplating if they're real as she glares between the scythe on the District Nine chariot and the careers. But the majority of them are a mix of nervousness as they prepare to face the crowds.

"And Zephyr's safety," Tara adds to him, chuckling a little when Seraphim turns to her with wide eyes full of disbelief that she would say that here. "Oh don't give me that look, everyone knows you want to date the victor."

"I'm waiting for him to be ready to date. And yes, I'm worried for him, even if he's more than capable of protecting himself," Seraphim mumbles, looking around once more to see if anyone overheard his mother this time. "And I'm never inviting you to this again if you're going to keep teasing me."

"Oh yes you will," Tara laughs at him pouting, but she's completely right. "You love me and you'll invite me next year."

"Yeah," Seraphim responds with a smile to her, but the nervous pit in his stomach makes his smile falter as he can't imagine anything happening to her. He turns away from her and back to the screens, finding all the tributes gathered by the chariots. "It's time to make the announcement to them."

Seraphim motions for someone to pass him the microphone that will allow him to speak down to the tributes as Laelia enters the room in a rush, trying to smooth out her hair and not look so flustered. Seraphim raises an eyebrow at her but doesn't have time to question it as time is ticking away and they need to get the tributes on their chariots soon. "Attention tributes," Seraphim says, watching as they start looking around the room they're in at his voice. "This is your Head Gamemaker speaking. As you may have noticed, there are weapons to use as props for the chariots. _These are completely fake,_ " Seraphim emphasizes, not quite trusting a bunch of teenagers to not do something stupid with them. Most of the Gamemakers didn't trust them at all and it's why Seraphim had to work on an agreement with the President for how to handle anyone trying to use them. "They are made of foam and attached by wire that is invisible to the crowd looking at the chariots. Regardless, you are under _no_ circumstances allowed to use them to hit, smack, stab, whatever any other tributes with them. I am very serious about this. If you do anything with the weapons towards another tribute, you will receive a 30 second penalty at the start of the Games. That means 30 seconds where your pedestal mines are still on and everyone else is free move."

Seraphim waits a few seconds for this information to sink in to everyone and for them to understand the severity of trying to hurt anyone. "Are we clear?" He asks and gets a few nods of heads from some of the older tributes, like Amelia, Fox, and Arthur, a couple thumbs up from Major and Bellona, a salute with a laugh from Odyssey, a yawn from Fete, and a glare from Sky. "Good. Go ahead and get on your chariots, we start in five minutes."

Seraphim passes the microphone back to one of the crew members and lets out a sigh, really hoping that he won't have to deal with anyone hitting someone in the head with a weapon or something. He turns over to Laelia, choosing to focus on her looking all flustered rather than the feeling that something is going to go wrong. "What's up with you? I thought you were done a while ago with giving them the sense bots."

"I was," Laelia answers, clearing her throat and trying to look more presentable as the President enters the room. "But before I left I got sidetracked by one of the escorts asking me a bunch of questions and I wanted to stop and see Kora because she's just been a bit anxious lately about Games stuff after last year."

"Which escort? I'll talk to them," Seraphim tells her, frowning a bit at what she said about Kora. "And maybe we should find someone to help her out like Claudia and Elliot did."

"She would appreciate that, even if she won't admit it," Laelia gives a small smile as her cheeks start flushing. "And don't worry about the escort, he wasn't bothering him."

Seraphim raises an eyebrow and so badly wants to question her about that, especially after all the teasing she has done to him about Zephyr. Especially because there's only five escorts that could be 'him', and he doesn't quite think Laelia would start blushing over Agapios, Bobby, or Icarus, and Aineon is obviously taken. But before he can start questioning her about Devrek – he has no doubt the new escort is who was asking her questions – Ophelia rushes over to him and grabs his arm to start leading him towards the Presidential Box. "Come on, you need to be seen by the crowd."

"Alright, alright, I'm going," he tells her, smiling a bit at the woman he owes so much to. He grabs his mother's hand to bring her with him before giving a poignant look at Laelia, "Don't you dare run away when this is done, I want to hear all about it."

This makes the younger Gamemaker's cheeks turn almost as bright as her hair and Seraphim turns away to chuckle at her reaction. He almost feels like an older brother to her now after the last few months spent working together. But now, he must focus on the tributes. He clears his face of any of his doubts before Ophelia leads him out the door, not wanting anyone watching to suspect that things aren't as they should be.

He takes his spot next to the President and his mother sits on his other side, a spot reserved for any guest of the Head Gamemaker. Set up in front of them but hidden from the crowd are a whole array of screens, showing cameras from various points along the chariot path and one of Kora getting last touches on her appearance. He brings his cufflink up to his face to speaking into the subtly placed communication device there. "Kora can you hear me?" He gets a thumbs up from the host and he sits back in his chair, trying to relax as he watches the screen that is trained on where the chariots will first appear.

President Xavier leans towards him, dropping his voice to barely a whisper. "Holly won't be a problem," he tells Seraphim before leaning in front of Seraphim to look past the bewildered Head Gamemaker. "Hello Tara," President Xavier says pleasantly as he shakes his mother's hand. But despite his pleasant tone, Seraphim can see the lines of worry on the President's face. "How are you doing tonight?"

"Lovely, sir," Tara answers with a pleasant smile as she shakes the President's hand before glancing at Seraphim. "I always love getting to support Serry's work."

It takes a few seconds for Seraphim to acknowledge his nickname, still confused by what Xavier has said about Holly. Taken care of? Yet she's still on the chariots… "Wait, Mom!" Seraphim gives her a wide eye look, seriously in disbelief that she just called him that in front of the President of Panem.

"What? I'm just proud of your work, honey," Tara tells him, proud look on her face as she smiles at him. "You work so hard for all of this."

"Indeed, he's one of the hardest workers I know," Xavier responds, making Seraphim relax a little about getting called his mother's nickname in front of him. "This Quell was no small feat and I am looking forward to seeing the final outfits put together tonight. Seraphim has been very excited about this theme of his."

"Blame Lisia, she got me hooked on the idea of a theme for everything," Seraphim responds, getting distracted from Holly's fate as the first chariot leaves. Seraphim gives the President a look that he needs to know more and Xavier nods his head, leaving Seraphim to focus on the present. "Here we go."

The crowd goes wild with the appearance of the District One tributes, as they do every year with the start of the chariots. And this year's tributes are not a disappointment, thanks in part to the work of their stylists. Both have been placed in a gorgeous set of armor made from an icy blue glass that catches the light and almost looks as if it's made of crystal. Each individual piece of armor has been lined with fur trim, something that must be making the pieces too warm for the tributes. The stylists have chosen to place a matching glass helmet on their heads, complete with a pair of horns made of gold. The stylists have taken Seraphim's instructions and absolutely made it fit for District One. In their gloved hands, they each hold a scimitar blade, but they both do different things with them. Major is being as charismatic as he was at the Reaping, a cute and innocent look on his face as he alternates between waving at the crowd and using his blade to stab an imaginary tribute in front of him, occasionally laughing in joy at their cheers for him. Anastacia, on the other hand, keeps a calm look on her face as she smiles warmly at the crowd, but doesn't show any hints of what she is capable of doing with the blade. But it doesn't seem to matter to the crowd that she keeps the blade attached to her waist with her hand on the pommel; they still love her staying mysterious.

"Oh they look lovely," Tara tells Seraphim and he nods his head in agreement, but remains quiet, not wanting to show any preferential treatment towards the tributes. "But I know you are looking forward to District Two for reasons."

Seraphim scoffs at that and shakes his head, refraining from telling her that he would be more excited if it Zephyr was mentoring one of them. But it doesn't take long for the District Two tributes to appear, earning many cheers from the crowd that they are able to build up in volume. There's no doubt that while Major was good at getting the crowd to cheer for him, Bellona and Odyssey are simply better. Their costumes remind Seraphim a bit of what the District Two tributes wore for the last Quell, just…better. They both wear gold plated armor with elegant vine patterns placed on them over a red tunic. Instead of giving them a helmet, the stylists have placed golden laurel crowns on their head, with Bellona's dark hair braided into a crown that it rests on and Odyssey's blond tousled hair controlled and slicked back. They wave at the crowd enthusiastically, putting on a show for them, before pushing the boundaries of Seraphim's orders to not use the weapons by pretending like they're going to throw their spears, subtly aimed at the District One tributes, before laughing together. When Bellona takes Odyssey's hand and raises it up above them, Odyssey starts waving his spear and the crowd loses it at their unity.

"How long will they keep up the unity?" Xavier questions allowed and Seraphim shrugs at this, not knowing for sure. But if they do…well, he has an idea for the arena.

"We'll see what happens once the pressure is on in the arena," Seraphim responds, tapping his fingers on the arm of his chair a bit. "We'll see."

Before any further speculation can be done, the District Three chariot appears and it seems that some in the crowd are finally picking up on the theme among the different costumes. Seraphim sits up and smiles proudly at this, really thinking he was clever with telling the stylists to make a set of armor for each tribute that ties into their District's specialty. Seraphim wasn't sure how the team for Three would tackle technology for their outfits, but it seems as if they've gone back to the roots of technology. Amelia and Calvin, while neither originally from Three, capture the District's export of technology well, wearing silver armor that requires a closer look to see that the armor is actually a series of gears all working together. Attached to their gloves, they have half circle blades designed in the shape of gears. Calvin seems fairly confident, but not too much, looking out at the crowd with a small smile as he keeps one hand on the front of the chariot to keep steady while using the other hand to wave out at the crowd. Amelia seems a bit hesitant as the crowd cheers from them, but as she gets used to the loudness of the Capitol, a determination slowly grows on her face as she starts waving out at the crowd with one hand, the other on her hip.

Seraphim gives a subtle glance over at the President, wondering how he feels about seeing two of his university students in person now. But as always, he keeps his face neutral, a skill from years of being in the public eye. Seraphim turns back to the District Three tributes, really not liking to give preferential treatment to anyone but…to keep the President happy, he might have to, or at least make sure they have as fair of a chance as possible.

But that is something for Seraphim to worry about later, once the Games have actually started. Right now he must focus on the tributes making their first big appearances to the Capitol, and it's now District Four's turn. The pair looks as if they could have just stepped out of the sea wearing scaled armor in a rich blue color that shifts as they move. Delta really looks like it as her hair has been tousled and made to look damp, even with a few pieces of seaweed tucked in it and Demarcus wears a woven crown made of seaweed to match her. Of course they were given tridents as their weapon since it's District Four. Delta waves her trident up in the air, letting out a battle cry as she waves to the crowd. Demarcus is trying his best, but the nervousness that was present at the Reaping is still there. He tries to smile at the crowd as he gives tentative waves, but his smile almost looks more like a grimace. But still, he's trying to interact with them and the crowd is happy with that.

As Seraphim watches them, he gets an idea and leans over towards the President to whisper to him. "I think Delta can help us with our District Seven problem…"

Xavier stares at the girl for a few seconds before nodding his head at him. "Do it."

"Yes sir," Seraphim answers, moving back into his seat to watch the District Five chariot appear, wondering which source of energy the stylists will have chosen for their armor.

And it turns out they've chosen to focus on one of the energy sources that the people in the District least want to work with, but makes for the most striking outfit. The two have been placed in jet black armor from head to toe, filled with sharp edges and horns along their shoulders and their helmet. But a closer look at the armor reveals a glowing red following the sharp lines. In their hands, they each hold a black sword on fire, but Seraphim knows the stylists know how to use fake flames. Davy is trying to keep a brave face to the crowd, but fails to hide how afraid he is as he keeps glancing at his flaming sword, seemingly not trusting it to not actually burn him. Eva, on the other hand, just stares blankly at the crowd, not trying to appeal to them and almost looking bored being part of the chariots. She reaches up and rubs her forehead before sighing and leaning against the front of the chariot to just stare ahead.

"Davy is the type we would have rooted for together!" Tara tells Seraphim, putting a hand on her heart as she stares at the scared boy. "You always love the underdogs."

"Now I love staying as unbiased as possible," Seraphim responds, getting a chuckle from his mother. Well, at least unbiased against those the President doesn't have special interest in.

"Of course," Tara says as the District Six tribute starts to move out of the center. "We can't have a Head Gamemaker that picks the tributes he wants to win."

"That wouldn't be fair at all," Seraphim answers quietly as he watches the District Six tributes appear.

The first thing Seraphim notices is how awkward Elias appears as he clings onto the chariot, desperately trying to stay upright in the moving chariot with his prosthetics. Elias is so focused on staying upright that he can't even try to appeal to the crowd, but the wide eyed looks he gives to the crowd show he is trying to think of something to do. He's a sharp contrast to his District partner Courtney who is doing everything possible to make a good impression to the crowd, from waving her warhammer around to blowing kisses at the crowd. For the transportation District, the stylists have gone back to the basics, giving them armor made out of what looks to be tires. At first, Seraphim isn't too impressed by it, but after staring at it some more, he realizes that the rubber might actually be good protection against weapons. The crowd doesn't seem quite sure how to react to District Six with how different the two are from each other, but get more cheers than District Five did.

"Courtney seems fun," Tara tells him and Seraphim shrugs at this. "And poor Elias… I wonder what happened to his legs!"

"So do I," Seraphim murmurs, wanting to ask Theodosius if his people have found out anything in their investigation to Elias' family.

But there is no time for that, not when potentially the most problematic District is appearing… Seraphim pays careful attention to Kora's announcement of the two to ensure she introduces the girl as Carameuse, not Holly… Seraphim still cannot believe that the rebels managed to sneak someone into the Games under the guise of someone else. He still has so many questions, like how she managed to get past the check in and most importantly, what her purpose in the Games is. But Xavier hasn't told him this information, telling him to focus on the Quell instead. Seraphim absentmindedly rubs the spot on his arm, trying not to glare at the girl and everything she stands for. And then there is Adam…eight months pregnant Adam, carrying a child distantly related to the Snow family. Somehow the stylists were able to manage to adjust his armor to fit around his swollen belly. Both have been placed in rich cherry wood armor with Holly's hair placed in an intricate design of woven braids. Holly tries her best to wave at the crowd, searching around and making Seraphim clench his fist in fear of the rebels. Poor Adam is doing his best to wave at the crowd, but struggles to do so with a bow made of cherry wood in one hand. He tries to switch the bow to his left hand but in the process, loses his balance and flails his arms around to catch himself. Before he can grab the railing, he smacks Holly in the head with his bow, almost making her lose her balance.

Seraphim takes in a breath at this and looks over at the President, knowing he what he told the tributes. "What do we do?"

President Xavier stares at the District Seven chariot for a few seconds, thinking through his response, before slowly bringing his gaze over to Seraphim. "You told them if they do anything with the weapons towards the other tributes they would be punished… As much as I worry about the backlash, we have to give him the thirty second penalty…"

Seraphim slowly nods his head at this, even if he doesn't feel like Adam deserves it… But he's stuck and it's his own words that are the reason. "Right…" he slowly answers the President, even though he feels like he's probably giving Adam no chance now. "If we don't do this to Adam but someone else does it, we're not being fair…"

"The Games aren't fair at times to some tributes," Xavier answers carefully. "You gave clear instructions and we must follow through on them."

"Yes sir," Seraphim says quietly, even if he doesn't feel right about it. But he doesn't feel right about anything to do with the very pregnant tribute. He glances over at his mother and finds her frowning at Adam so he reaches out and takes her hand, trying to comfort her a little. As someone who's proudest life achievement is being a parent, he knows Tara must be taking it hard seeing Adam going into the Games. He so badly wants to tell her that the baby will at least be safe, but she can't know that yet.

Seraphim tries to put his focus back on the chariots, but it's hard to focus on the District Eight pair after watching the mess that is Seven. Seraphim is glad the friends don't seem like they'll be a mess like the previous District and are playing up to the crowd more than some of their predecessors. The armor they wear is simple compared to some of the others so far, made of dark red and black leather that allows them to move freely. A pair of daggers are in holsters on both sides of their waist. Their heads are covered with a hood made of the same black leather, but their faces have been left free for the crowd to see. And it sure is a good thing as they're both giving their best fake smiles as they wave out at the crowd. Fete and Atropa are charismatic together, clearly knowing how important this moment is for making them memorable. They occasionally strike some poses together, being a little over the top, but the crowd responds well. Seraphim can't tell if it's because of the tributes or the fact that their District brought home last year's well-loved victor.

"They're a fun pair," Tara remarks, her voice still having a hint of sadness for Adam. "You know one alliance already."

"Yes, for sure," Seraphim agrees with her. "But the question will be if anyone else joins them."

One thing he is fairly certain on is that the District Eight pair will probably not be allying with the next two that appear. District Nine has both of the youngest tributes, but Seraphim knows not to underestimate any thirteen year olds this year. The grain District is well-represented in the chain mail armor the two wear, with golden grass woven through the links of the armor. They both hold scythes that are taller than them but it doesn't seem to matter to them. Sky is as angry as she was at the Reaping, not hiding her glares at all from the crowd. Her hands are gripped tight on her scythe, slowly turning her knuckles white, and she keeps glancing up at the fake blade and way ahead to wear the careers are. Eliot, on the other hand, is looking at Sky with confusion, before putting on his best angry face as he looks at the crowd.

"Is he copying her?" Seraphim asks allowed, confused by what the young boy is doing.

It sure seems like that's the case, but he doesn't keep up the angry face for long as he looks ahead at the District Eight chariot and decides to start imitating the older pair. Eliot waves happily at the crowd, giving them an adorable smile that they love.

"He shouldn't," Tara responds to him and Seraphim looks over when her tone sounds all cheery again. "Look how cute he is."

"Another one you're rooting for?"

"Both of them," Tara answers, her smile faltering slightly as she looks at the pair. "Sky is…she needs someone rooting for her."

Knowing more about Sky and what has happened to her in the last year, Seraphim finds himself agreeing with his mother. He finds himself absentmindedly nodding his head in agreement as he turns to watch the pair from Ten. The pair from the livestock District have unsurprisingly been placed in armor made primarily out of tanned leather with a black cape lined with fur along the shoulders and collar draped over it. A large belt has been placed around their waists with a simple sword attached, along with smaller belts and buckles to hold the pieces together. Genesis stands quite still, despite the motion of the chariot and holds on for dear life to the chariot in front of her with both hands. She stares around at the noise and lights around her with wide eyes, clearly panicked a bit by everything going on. Fox on the other hand, while looking a little nervous, still smiles around and seems to be looking for something. He finally finds it and waves at it, and it turns out he was searching for one of the cameras.

"I wonder who he's waving towards?" Tara asks curiously and Seraphim contemplates if he should tell her or not that he's probably waving to his wife and son. But he doesn't want to make her sad once more about another parent in the Games, so he chooses to remain quiet for now. She'll find out about him later from the interviews…and then be upset that he didn't tell her sooner. "Probably his wife and son," Seraphim blurts out as the final chariot appears, using that as an excuse to not look at the disappointment on her face.

The crowd is still excited by time they see District Eleven, even though the careers have long since passed. Seraphim supposes the Quell twist has made the crowd more excited about this last pair. After all, one of the tributes standing on the chariot wearing armor made of long thin plant leaves woven together is already deaf. Jessamine does her best to wave cheerfully at the crowd, but her eyes are watering with tears that Seraphim isn't sure are out of fear of the crowd or the Games. Her hair has had flowers woven through it and Arthur has had similar things done to his hair pulled back into a small knot on the top of his head. Arthur mostly keeps his gaze ahead of him, body tense as his face shows hints of his discomfort about being on the chariots.

Seraphim watches as the last chariot makes its way down the Avenue of the Tributes and towards the City Circle, many of them already stopped in front of them. President Xavier stands up when they reach the City Circle and approaches the podium to give his speech. Seraphim focuses half on the President and half on the tributes gathered below him, wanting to make sure none of them try anything while attention is drawn off of them. But they all stay focused on the President with varying expressions, ranging from respect to hatred and everything in-between.

"Welcome, Panem, to the 150th Hunger Games," President Xavier starts letting the crowd cheer in excitement before motioning them to quiet down so he can continue. "I am honored to be welcoming all of you to the Sixth Quarter Quell as your President. I know these events will be something talked about for years. Tributes, best of luck in the upcoming days as you prepare for the Games. And may the odds be ever in your favor."

The President is met with applause and the chariots start to take the tributes towards Games Headquarters as he slowly walks back to his seat. He gives Seraphim a long look as he sits back down and lets out a heavy sigh that reveals how much stress these Games have placed on him. "I hope they'll be talking about this Quell for good reasons for years."

"So do I, sir," Seraphim tells him, knowing that for years all he was hoping for as he planned the Quell was to be more memorable than the previous one. But now, after everything that happened last year and the underlying threat of the rebels? He's just wants them to not be remembered for being a disaster. And to be alive to actually remember them. "So do I…"

* * *

 **Here we are with the chariot rides! I always love coming up with outfits and having a theme just made it even more fun! Which District did you like the best? If I was better at drawing, I would draw all of these but that would take me hours and hours lol. But also half of them are shameless rip offs of Skyrim armor lol**

 **So we got another check in with Seraphim and what's going on with the Capitol side of things! I just had too much fun introducing his mother because she's very blessed and we'll see more from her later because she's too fun lol.**

 **Not sure what else to say here aside from we're quickly moving into all the tributes interacting! Next up we're going to see some first meetings happening immediately after the chariot rides! I'll be back soon with that chapter after Wayward Night Two!**


	21. First Meetings

**Chapter 17:**

 _Demarcus Pollock, 18, District Four_

As the chariot finally comes to a stop, Demarcus leans forward to rest his forehead against the rail of the chariot and takes deep breaths, trying to control his racing heart. He tried so very hard to keep it all together during the chariot rides, but being in front of that large crowd was ten times worse than he anticipated. The only thing that got him through it was repeating the mantra that Iona has had him reciting every hour since the reaping in the belief that if he says it enough times, he'll start to believe it.

"I was chosen for a reason," Demarcus whispers to himself as he hears some of the other chariots entering behind him and he picks up his head, knowing they might see his anxiety as weakness. "I deserve to be here. I will be the victor and help out my family."

Demarcus takes a few slow breaths, in through the nose and out the mouth, as he stares down in front of him, trying not to think about the tributes all around him. Slowly, he can feel his racing heart slowly down as he keeps reminding himself that the time in front of the crowds is done. No one will be staring down at him and judging him, all based on his appearance.

Until he gets to the interviews. Then he'll have the entire nation's attention trained solely on him.

And just like that his breathing quickens along with his heart as his stomach twists in anxiety. He only got through this knowing that the crowd wasn't focusing on anyone in particular. But for the interviews, they're going to be watching him and only him, analyzing every single thing he says and judging him for each word, each small action that he does and-

"Now what?" Delta asks him suddenly, stopping his thoughts from spiraling even further.

"What?" Demarcus asks as he blinks a couple times and brings his focus on her. He had been so caught up in his thoughts that he had forgotten for a moment that his District partner was next to him. And he's glad that she's the one the victors picked to go with him… She never tries to talk to him excessively, only a few awkward sentences here and there when they're talking just about the Games. No questions about his home life or himself.

"What do we do now?" Delta questions again and gestures around them, bringing Demarcus' attention away from her and to the tributes surrounding them. Almost all the chariots have arrived now and a few of the tributes have their gazes on him, causing him to quickly look away, especially at the glare from the young girl from Nine. Most of the tributes haven't started to get off their chariots yet, looking just as unsure as Demarcus feels about what to do next.

"Iona said we should talk to the others…" Demarcus answers quietly, hating the thought of talking to the others, even if it's absolutely necessary for their alliance. He knows he has to do it and it's inevitable…but he doesn't want to be the one to initiate it. And he can see from Delta's face that she isn't that thrilled at the thought of it either.

Luckily it seems like he won't have to. Or maybe unluckily since he still has to talk to them.

"Hey Four!"

It takes a few seconds for Demarcus to realize the person is talking to them, calling them by their District. He looks around and finds the pairs from One and Two standing together, the pair from Two introducing themselves to the girl from One while her partner bounces on his toes and waves them over.

"I guess that answers my question," Delta says with a sigh as she jumps down from the chariot, the scale plates on her armor jingling together from the movement. She starts storming over to the four careers, not waiting for Demarcus as he takes his time getting down from the chariot, trying to both avoid tripping and embarrassing himself in front of the others and avoid talking to them. He waits a second for the girl from Five to walk past him, determined expression on her face and walking on a mission over to the tributes from District Three.

He takes his time walking over the short distance, taking deep breaths and trying to calm himself down before talking to four brand new people that he needs to get along with. He doesn't have the luxury of feeling confident enough to talk to other tributes to be their ally if things go poorly here. Not that any of them would actually want to be his ally…he doesn't even know if the other careers will even want to be his ally.

Well, he supposes he's about to find out very soon.

"Hiya! I'm Major Emerson-Ness!" The boy from One greets him with a cute smile and sticks his hand right out to Demarcus. He hesitates for a couple seconds and Major keeps giving him that encouraging smile, so he reaches out and shakes his hand while trying to give a smile in return.

"Demarcus," he says quietly as Major lets go of his hand and holds out his hand to Delta, who keeps her arms crossed and gives him a nod instead.

"Delta," she says, giving him no sort of smile or anything.

"You know," the boy from Two speaks up, grin on his face as he uses his thumb to point over at Major, "I didn't know we would have a major from the army in our alliance." He gives Major a salute and waits a few seconds, grinning at each of them until Demarcus finally catches his joke and starts smiling genuinely. Major gives a forced laugh and Odyssey chuckles at his own joke before holding out his hand to Demarcus who doesn't hesitate as much to take it this time, "Odyssey Gunderson, nice to meet you."

"I would say you get used to his jokes, but no one gets used to dad jokes," Odyssey's District partner speaks up, shaking her head at him but still smiling up at him, clearly unbothered by the joke.

"Bell is a harsh critic," Odyssey sighs dramatically as he puts a hand over his heart, "She hurts me so much."

Bell scoffs at this and rolls her eyes, clearly fighting off a smile. "He's such a queen and you haven't even met the actual queen yet." Demarcus gives her a confused look that she ignores, instead offering her hand to them. "Bellona Silvanus."

Demarcus takes her hand, trying to smile at her but just feeling uncomfortable with how easily the pair from Two talk together and feeling like he's interrupting something. But Major steps forward then, redirecting the conversation away from him. "So what did you all think about that? I love being out in front of the crowd! Reminds me of dancing back home."

"Oh you dance?" Odyssey asks as excitement lights up his face and Major nods his head, grinning at Odyssey. "I also perform back home but a little bit different from that."

The girl from One steps forward as the two start talking excitedly about performing, having stayed away from Major the whole time. "Anastacia," she says quietly, nodding her head at the two of them before stepping back, clearly not wanting to be in the focus of the conversation, but not before Demarcus sees her give Major a cold look.

"Nice! I just love being out in front of the crowd," Major sighs wistfully at this and glances back to the closed door they came through and the muted sounds of the crowd leaving. Demarcus follows his gaze and he's just reminded that he'll have to face them again in a few days. When he turns back to them, he has an innocent smile on his face and when he looks at Demarcus, the look quickly fades away and he starts frowning at Demarcus. "Do you not like it?"

Demarcus shakes his head slowly, unsure of what to tell him about himself, at least in front of the others. Major has been warm and open to him, slowly making him grow more comfortable in the conversation. But the others? The ease the pair from Two have with each other just makes a stab of envy go through him that they can so easily talk to each other without any clear social anxiety over it. And Anastacia and Delta are choosing to stay back from the conversation, which Demarcus wouldn't mind doing. But Major isn't letting that happen as he puts his whole focus on him, making him feel like Major really cares about him being part of the conversation. "I…don't do too well in front of large crowds," Demarcus responds, already feeling anxious about watching the parade and seeing just how poorly he did. He knows he didn't impress the crowd and his family back home is probably yelling at him on the screen for volunteering, giving them more belief that he won't-

Demarcus jumps as Major pats his shoulder, giving him reassuring smile. "I'm sure you did just fine! And it's okay if you didn't. Not everyone can be a performer!"

"I don't think the alliance could handle having _three_ performers in it," Odyssey jokes with him and Major laughs along with it. Demarcus tries to smile about this, slowly relaxing under Major's reassurance, but the anxiety is still lingering in him until he can see for himself.

"Tributes, please report to your assigned floors."

Demarcus lets out a sigh of relief at the announcement providing him with the opportunity to leave this conversation without looking bad for leaving before the others. Major starts pouting about this, "Oh darn, I was having fun talking to you all!" He gives a small shrug of his shoulders before smiling once more at them and motioning for them to start walking over to the elevators. "Well good thing we have two full days of training for me to get to know all of you!"

Right…two full days of socializing… Demarcus grimaces at the thought as Bellona gestures for them to head towards the elevator and Delta takes off first, clearly just as done with socializing as he is. Bellona lingers back to walk beside Anastacia to talk to her and Odyssey is ready to walk with Major, but the boy from One has decided to walk right beside Demarcus. "You know I'm really excited to get to know you!" Major says cheerfully as they make their way over to the elevator that Delta is waiting by. "I'm excited to get to know everyone, really. It seems like the victors really picked some good tributes from every District this year!"

"Right," Demarcus agrees quietly with him, still having that doubt in his head that he shouldn't have been picked.

"Of course they picked the best," Odyssey says from beside them, bringing Demarcus' gaze over to the boy that just walks with such confidence that he's envious of. He's never had that kind of confidence before… "We all want to be the next Quarter Quell victor."

"And District Two is going to get back to back Quell victors," Bellona adds on as the doors to the elevator open up. They step on as Odyssey nods his head in agreement at this, making the cheerful expression on Major's face come down a notch.

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Major teases and chuckles a little at this, but as the doors slide shut with all six careers in the tiny space, Demarcus can feel the growing tension in the air. All of them want to be the victor and he knows that despite all the friendliness they're showing right now to each other, they're not friends. They're competitors fighting for the same goal and none of them want to fail. Not when failure means death.

A tense silence falls on them until the doors open on the first floor and Major skips out, followed behind by Anastacia. He turns back around to wave at them, calling out as the doors start to shut, "See you all tomorrow!"

When the doors shut and they continue moving up, Bellona whispers to Odyssey and looks around at the two from Four, but in the tiny space, Demarcus is still able to hear her. "I don't trust him, no one is that cheerful to people that are competing against him for victory."

"I don't know, he didn't seem like a _major_ asshole to me," Odyssey chuckles at his joke as the elevator stops on the second floor and he turns back to Delta and Demarcus, giving them a polite smile before stepping off. "See you tomorrow."

Bellona gives a casual wave at the two and soon they're going up to the fourth floor. Demarcus lets out a big sigh as his shoulders slouch, feeling some of the tension in him dissipate from no longer being near the people he doesn't know and feels forced to make like him. He looks over at Delta, finding similar relief on her face that they're no longer near the others. "What do you think?"

She turns over to him as the doors open on their floor and gives him a shrug. "They'll be good allies, that's about it."

"Yeah…" he responds as they walk out onto their floor, becoming a bit awed as he looks around the luxurious floor that's just for their team and his home for the next few days. Until it's time for him to fight the people that were just being friendly with him…

Somehow, he doubts Iona will let him hide up here for the next few days and avoid the others.

* * *

 _Eva Orville-Wright, 18, District Five_

Before the chariot even has time to stop, Eva is already jumping down from it and on a mission. Of course she's already planned out her next move after the chariot, not willing to waste any of her time during the Capitol. She's planned out too much of her future to let it slip away from her now all because she was unlucky, despite the odds being in her favor. But, she knows having a few slips in the Reaping bowl didn't make it impossible to be picked, just statistically unlikely. But she's never been one to focus on the past, instead always planning out her next move to get to her future at the university.

"Whe-where are you going?" Davy asks her in confusion as the chariot stops and he catches himself from the sudden stop. "Letha said to head up to the fifth floor once we were done."

Eva stops and turns back, staring at him blankly for a few seconds for interrupting her plan. But she can afford a minute here. "Letha might have told you that but Galen is my mentor and we have a plan. So go on, you can go run and hide while I get myself allies."

Before turning around to continue on her mission, Eva can see the slight disappointment on her District partner's face from her still rejecting him, but she doesn't dwell on it. Davy seems like a good kid, but good kids don't win the Hunger Games. And Davy might be smart, but so is Eva and that's all he has to offer her. Eva isn't looking for people like her. She's looking for people to balance out her weaknesses and get her sponsors to keep her alive. Davy isn't that person.

But Eva has her eyes on two people that fit that criteria and she's going to make them her allies.

Eva walks with a purpose over to the District Three chariot, determined look on her face. The boy from Four waits for her to pass, but she doesn't give him a second glance, knowing he would never ally with her. She'll never get the careers to ally with her unless one of them goes rogue like the girl from One last year. But Galen doubts this will happen and the career Districts will send their best options that won't risk going off alone, so Eva will make do with her other options. And if these two both say no – which she doubts – then Eva has a list in order of who she'll ask next.

The pair from Three look over at her as she approaches, Calvin with a skeptical look and Amelia with a confused look – and Eva stops in front of them, placing both hands on her hips and making sure she has attention from both of them before starting. "Eva Orville-Wright, District Five. I'm not going to beat around the bush or anything with you. I know what I want and need to win these Games and that's allies to balance out what I have to offer. I think you two have the most to offer to me. I don't want to be your friend – that would be wasting all of our time because both of you know well that only one person is making it out alive."

Eva stares at both of them, watching how they react to her statement. Amelia is the only one to really show emotion, her face falling a bit at the reminder that only one is making it out alive, before it's replaced by confusion as she stares at Eva. "But…why me?" She asks, clearly not realizing how valuable she is in the eyes of the sponsors.

"You're already the President's favorite and bound to get sponsors," Eva gives a nonchalant shrug at this, knowing she'll never be as popular in the eyes of the sponsors as these two. She isn't part of the university program in Three nor is she a career that's trained for this. She's a girl from Five with the brains to win but lacking on popularity and physical skills. She's smart enough to know this and find a way around it. "I want in on those sponsor gifts. And Calvin seems strong."

The boy crosses his arms at this, his body tense and defensive, conflicting with the neutral look on his face. "What exactly do you have to offer?"

"My brain," Eva answers confidently, knowing she's right on par intellectually with these two, if not higher. "I'm smart – I have a full ride to Five's university waiting for me at home – and I'm efficient at planning. I know what my odds are and what I need to learn and I won't sugar coat anything in our alliance. And everyone in Panem knows you two and that you're smart, so I'm sure you'll see how this alliance would be mutually beneficial."

"I don't need someone that's smart. I already have that," Calvin responds right away, making Eva narrow her eyes a bit. "If you don't have survival skills – which seems unlikely coming from District Five – then I don't want to be your ally."

"Well go off then," Eva responds with a huff, crossing her arms to mirror his as he starts to walk away from her. "Suit yourself if you want to turn down what I have to offer. I don't need you." And she really doesn't. She knew there was a chance they could say no to her and she's thought through her next plan. Sure, these two are the best options for her – and she'd be lying if she didn't want Calvin more because he she saw his muscles while analyzing each Reaping. But there's still one still there. "Well? Are you going to say no as well?"

Amelia hesitates with her response and Eva raises an eyebrow at her, starting to question if Amelia is really a good option for her as an ally. Sure, she'll get sponsors, but she doesn't seem to have much drive.

After a minute goes by with no response as a bunch of different emotions pass over Amelia's face, Eva decides she has her response and is ready to turn around and go to her next option. "Well you could at least say no."

Eva turns to leave and head over towards the District Eleven chariot to proposition Arthur for an alliance, given him also appearing to be strong from watching the Reapings. She only allows herself to be disappointed for a second, knowing there's no point in dwelling on them turning her down. Not when there's way more important things to focus her attention on.

"Wait!"

Eva glances back at Amelia over her shoulder and as she watches Amelia take a step closer towards her, she turns around to fully face the girl still hesitating. "Well?" Eva asks, a bit of annoyance seeping into her voice that this is taking longer than she planned and she doesn't even have an ally yet.

Amelia starts fidgeting with her hands and stares at them for a few seconds, but when she finally brings her gaze up to Eva, she can see a spark of determination in her eyes and it's enough to keep Eva put to hear what she has to say. "I guess I'm a little surprised and confused about why you want to be my ally."

"I already told you why," Eva responds, not feeling the need to waste her energy on repeating herself.

"Who wouldn't want to be your ally?"

Both girls turn to look over at the girl approaching them, and it takes only a moment for Eva to recognize her. And even if she hadn't, it would be easy to recognize the girl from Six based on her costume. "Hi!" She says cheerfully as she stops next to them, holding out her hand to Amelia to shake. The girl from Three slowly takes it as the confusion on her face continues to grow. "I'm Courtney Cassini, from District Six."

"I know," Eva responds as Courtney holds out her hand to Eva, who stares at it for a moment until Courtney gets the hint that she isn't going to waste her time on pleasantries and pulls her hand back in to brush back her short hair. "You're seventh on my list of who I would ask to be my ally."

"Seventh?" Courtney asks and contemplates the number for a few seconds, not realizing that it seems unlikely that Eva would have reached her. "I suppose seventh out of twenty two isn't too bad! What number are you up to now?"

"Amelia is second."

"Oh," Courtney responds, her smile faltering for a moment before she starts smiling again at the two of them. "Well I suppose it's not impossible that you would have reached me. But I'm here now so maybe I can move up if you let me join you two!"

"We're not allies…" Amelia says slowly and Eva raises her eyebrows at her, surprised to see her turning her offer down. "Well…at least not yet. I just…why me? I don't get it. I'm not remarkable or strong."

"Well, us girls in engineering need to stick together," Courtney says as she puffs out her chest, still smiling at them. "You're like goals for getting into the program! You got in from Six to the District Three program. I want to try to get in next year and I'm hopeful with another year of experience, I'll do it."

Eva and Amelia share a look at this information and it makes Courtney go up two spots in her ranking. "What kind? We know Amelia is civil and I have a full ride in mechanical and aerospace."

"I want to study aerospace too!" Courtney grins at this statement, seemingly unbothered by the fact that they are entering a death match in a few days. "Hell yeah to females in science!"

"Tributes, please report to your assigned floors."

"You'll do," Eva tells her after the announcement, knowing she could take the chance of finding allies that better balance out her skills but risk no one agreeing to her. And she's smart enough to know being on her own is not the best idea. Sure, they're lacking in strength, but surely they can make up for that between three smart girls in engineering. "But I'm only here to be allies, that's it. No friendship. You won't see me dying for one of you in the arena."

Courtney frowns for just a fraction of a second before nodding her head and smiling once more as she holds out her hand to Eva again. "Sounds good with me, _ally_."

Eva waits to shake her hand, staring over at Amelia and waiting for her to confirm her part in this alliance because she's not joining without her. Amelia slowly nods her head and forces a tiny bit of a smile. "I wasn't expecting to get in an alliance before training even started. I figured I would need to prove myself by displaying mediocre skills at weapons before someone approached me."

"You already proved yourself by getting into the District Three summer program," Courtney tells her and Eva just gives a quick nod of agreement, seeing some Peacekeepers heading their way to probably escort them up to their rooms since they've ignored the message. But she is not leaving without Amelia as her ally.

Amelia takes a deep breath before nodding her head with a bit more resolution. "Well then… I'm in."

"Good," Eva says as the Peacekeepers stop beside them. She turns around before they can tell her what to do. "See you in the morning. Be prepared to learn because I'm not wasting my time."

* * *

 **There we have it, our first bits of interactions among the tributes! I always love this part of the pre-Games chapters and I can't wait to get into the training chapters and really delve into the interactions. But, I couldn't skip out on this important time right after the chariot rides, and Demarcus and Eva were the ones to show us the earliest interactions!**

 **Any surprises about how the careers are interacting with each other? Or any surprise about Eva joining with the other two STEM girls? And since Cal turned Eva down, who do you think he has in mind instead for being his ally?**

 **Next up we'll be checking in with Major and Elias for training day one! Before we get there, any last predictions on some of the alliances that will form? I can't wait and I'll see you soon after the next Wayward chapter!**


	22. Training Day One: Cold Hearted

**Chapter 18:**

 _Major Emerson-Ness, 18, District One_

Major was the first one up on the District One team, wanting to get down early so he could watch all of the tributes arrive and study them all, picking out their weaknesses so he can exploit them. But part of him just wanted to have a moment alone in the training center before everyone else arrived to take in the enormity of this day. Years of hard work has brought him here. And he wants to take it all in, every little detail, so when he gets back home, he can tell his parents everything. He wants to share every detail about the entire Games with them to let them in on the victory they were stopped from achieving. Him being here today is so important to both of his parents and he can't afford to let them down.

And when the doors of the elevator open on the training center, Major is left a bit awed by the room. Every victor has stepped through these doors, just like he has, some scared and unsure while others feeling confident in their abilities. And Major knows he's going to be the next victor. He's going to make his parents so proud of him for achieving what they couldn't because of Emilio.

And to do that, he's going to use every bit of manipulation skill his parents have taught him over the years.

Major takes a deep breath as he takes one last look around the center, studying the details, before putting on his cute smile to make the others underestimate him. He heads over to the side of the room to watch the others arrive while taking the time to stretch before a day of training.

The others are going to have no clue what hit them. He's already winning them over. Demarcus reminded him of Pad, another person desperately needing some reassurance that they can do this. Major is confident he can bring down Demarcus. Just look at how successfully he was with Pad, and that was five years ago. He's learned many things since then, skills he is ready to apply to the other careers. He can see the rage in Delta and knows she must be a ticking time bomb. He just has to find what will set her off. Now the District Two pair, those two will prove to be a challenge, one he is very up to. Both confident in themselves and far from the animosity seen in last year's pair. But, everyone has a weakness. He'll figure out theirs. And then there is Anastacia. He thought she would have given up on training after Pad's death, yet she came back with a greater fight in her. At the time, Major felt disappointed in himself that he failed at taking out two trainees, but over the years he realized that she would just be a bigger challenge for him. While he could have gotten her out of training – and nearly did by getting one of the others to damage her hearing – why not get the other careers to turn on her in the arena?

None of them suspect who he really is, the person his parents trained him to be to finish the legacy they started: win the Hunger Games. So why not have a little fun along the way?

Major smirks a little to himself as he works on stretching his arms first. This is going to be fun.

Slowly the other tributes start to arrive, some on their own and some in pairs, while Major keeps stretching his limbs. Major smiles at each of them, even giving some a wave, like the pair from Eight as the girl drags the half-asleep boy over to the wall to lean against it, far away from him. He chuckles to himself at their reaction, before switching to stretching his legs. He stands up, giving his shoulders one more stretch before going into downward dog, situating himself so he can still watch the tributes arriving while also making sure that they also have a clear view of how fantastic his ass looks in these training pants.

And that's how Anastacia finds him when she steps off the elevator, shaking her head at him as she walks over to him. He picks up on hand to wave at her cheerfully before leaning further down to stick his ass even farther up in the air, getting an eye roll from him. "Morning, sunshine!"

"Don't talk to me," Anastacia answers coolly as more tributes start to arrive as the time draws closer to the start of their training.

Major gives a laugh at her response, unbothered by her being standoffish to him. It's only going to work better in his favor when the others see how rude she is to him. "I guess I'll just talk to our allies then."

"You!"

Major turns his head away from Anastacia to better see who is yelling at who, and finds one small angry girl storming over to them, pointing her finger at Anastacia. "I hate you!" Sky screams up at Anastacia, making a confused look appear on his District partner's face and an amused one form on his. "You bastards killed Marek! I-I-I'm gonna kill you all!"

Sky gets close enough to touch Anastacia with her pointed finger and that's when a trainer steps over, quickly pulling Sky back as the girl struggles to hold in angry tears. "That's enough, you're not to fight with anyone during training!"

Sky yanks her arm away from the trainer, still glaring at Anastacia with more anger than he expected in the girl. "I'm going to kill you."

"You'll have to get in line," Major mutters under his breath and starts to chuckle at this, hiding his face so any others won't see his reaction. "OOF!" He lets out as he's suddenly pushed over and he barely catches himself from slamming harshly against the hard floor. Sky storms off from them, the trainer following after her to make sure she doesn't cause any further trouble, as Major starts to pout at her knocking him over. But when he sees the pair from Two heading over, he quickly puts his adorable smile back on and resumes stretching as if he was never interrupted. "Hi guys!" he waves at them before laying on his side and bringing up his leg, pulling it all the way up to his shoulder. He watches them, waiting to see how they react to him exposing himself like this and when he catches them looking him over, he gives a wink at them. But he doesn't miss the look that Bellona briefly gives Odyssey, tucking away that look for later. He has to figure out what that means. "How's it going? Ready for some fun today?"

"Of course," Odyssey responds with a grin, seemingly not flustered by Major's stretching, which just makes him want to keep stretching in the most suggestive ways possible.

"Should be a good time," Bellona adds as the elevators open once more and the District Four pair step out. They look around for a few seconds before heading over to them, with Major giving them a cheerful wave.

But before he can say anything to them, a whistle is blown, bringing everyone's attention over to the Head Trainer as she steps towards the group. "Listen up, everyone," she says, and Major does the opposite of that as he stands up. He half listens to the Head Trainer, more focused on looking around at the other tributes and studying them. He doesn't need to be told safety and to focus on survival stations. These are things he's been taught for years.

Finally, she's done talking and some tributes start to head out towards the stations right away while others linger. Major skips in front of the group, putting his hands on his hips and grinning at them all. "Let's go show them all what we're made of!"

They don't all respond enthusiastically to him, but he doesn't let this bother him as they turn around and start walking towards the stations. He drifts over towards Odyssey as the others start branching off to their own stations, knowing his focus today is going to be figuring out how to manipulate the District Two pair. They're strong and he needs to figure out if he can turn them against each other. And Odyssey seems like the easier of the two to get close to, having already established something they both enjoy. "So where are you headed off to first?"

"Bows and arrows," Odyssey responds, nodding his head over at the station.

 _Perfect._ "Oh that's my favorite too!" Major grins over at the boy, getting a similar smile in return. "Mind if I join you?"

"Not at all," Odyssey answers, not suspecting anything at all about Major's true intentions as they make it over to the station. Odyssey takes his time picking out just the right bow, but Major picks up the first one, wanting the boy from Two to think he doesn't know that the bow is just a little too small for him. After all, he can't let them know just how skilled he is yet. "It's good to have more than one person in the alliance that uses a range weapon."

"Oh I completely agree," Major responds as he watches Odyssey pick a bow and take aim for a second, holding his breath as he lets the arrow loose, striking dead center in the target. "Anastacia likes her swords, which can be fun, but nothing like hitting a target dead before they have a chance to even get close to you," Major says as he lines up his shot before pulling it down just a little so that when he releases, it strikes off center. "What about Bellona?"

Odyssey pauses as he aims to glance over at Major before bringing his focus back on the target and hitting just next to his first arrow. "What about Bell?"

Huh, he calls her Bell. Interesting. Major sets the end of his bow down and leans his arms on the top of it so he can watch Odyssey closer, knowing he's on the right track here. "What does she like to use?"

"Oh," Odyssey says with a chuckle, turning to look over at Major and brushing his hair back. "You know those District Two girls, always loving their spears and knives."

"I don't really know them, not as well as you do," Major responds with a laugh, but still making sure to watch Odyssey carefully. The laugh that Odyssey gives him is just a bit forced compared to the laughs from last night, and Major knows this is somehow a delicate subject for him. Major briefly looks around the room as Odyssey lets loose another accurate arrow and finds Bellona talking with Anastacia, but looking over at Odyssey. She gives Major a small smile at him noticing her before quickly looking away, but not before he notices the faint blush spreading on her cheeks.

 _Bingo._

"You and Bellona seem really close. What, are you two, like, dating or something?" Major teases him as Odyssey is ready to fire another arrow, and his comment makes Odyssey jerk his arm just enough to make the arrow hit off target, the very first one to not hit the bullseye. Major holds in his smug smile at this and takes the time to fire another arrow that he doesn't let hit the bullseye. "I wouldn't blame you if you are, she's a pretty girl, but maybe not the best choice in partner considering, you know, the whole Games thing."

"What? No, no, no, we're just friends," Odyssey answers quickly, a little _too_ quickly, turning so his body is angled a bit away from Major. "Kat didn't want a repeat of last year so we were forced to work together or not be allowed to volunteer."

Major is glad Thetis didn't make them do that in One. He would have had a miserable time pretending to like Anastacia more than he has to pretend now. "Oh, sorry, it just seemed like it from how close you two are!" Major laughs at this, trying to diffuse the tension in Odyssey's shoulders as he aims again, but lands off center again.

"No worries," Odyssey answers, turning to give Major a smile, but he can see how it doesn't reach his eyes like his grins at his jokes last night did. "You know, I think I'm going to go work on, uhh…something else. It was, uh…nice chatting with you!" He says the last part quickly before setting the bow down, barely putting it on its stand before trying to all but run away from Major.

"Bye!" Major says cheerfully and waves after him, still smiling to himself over the information he learned. He leans against his boy again, keeping a relaxed smile on his face as he looks at the pair from District Two. Bellona is still glancing over at Odyssey, who has thrown himself into the spear station, clearly trying to keep his mind off of something. Something is there between the two of them. Major just hasn't quite figured out what yet, be it close friendship or maybe romantic feelings, but he will, and he is going to use that information to destroy them. But he isn't worried or in a rush. No, the best deceits always come from the slow ones that he really has to work towards. Those were the ones his parents are the most proud of him achieving. And why rush when he has several days in the Capitol to observe them and learn their weaknesses? Major isn't worried about it at all.

He picks up his bow again, considering moving to another station where one of his allies is working since there's no point in him being at the archery station any longer. But, he can't resist firing off one more shot. He notches the arrow and aims, before glancing around him to see if any of the tributes are paying attention to him. But anyone nearby is focused on their own station, so Major takes his aim and fires quickly, satisfied with his shot.

Major sets the bow down and heads off towards Delta working on the spears, knowing no one else is going to notice the additional arrow hitting the center of Odyssey's target. But as he walks away, cute smile on his face, he glances over at the Gamemakers and knows from the knowing look of the Head Gamemaker that someone has noticed him.

Major has an extra skip to his step as he goes over to Delta, knowing that he has the attention of the Gamemakers, and he will not disappoint them.

* * *

 _Arthur Bramble, 17, District Eleven_

Arthur keeps telling himself that he's just learning how to distinguish between plants that are safe and poisonous to protect himself. He doesn't know what plants will be in the arena compared to in Eleven, so he's just learning more about what's safe to eat. He keeps telling himself that the traps he's learning to make are for catching animals to eat in the arena. But he knows he's just lying to himself. Identifying a poisonous plant can be just as useful for avoiding to eat as it could be to poison a tribute. The deadly traps he is making are really meant for catching tributes. Despite everything his mentor told him…he just can't bring himself to go over to the weapons, even if he _knows_ survival will mean eventually having to kill. He can't knowingly pick up a knife to learn how to bleed someone out the fastest way or which vital points to hit someone with an arrow.

He can't bring himself to think about hurting others. It goes against everything his father taught him and the mission of the survival group he runs back home. He's dedicated his whole life to saving people, but now he's supposed to just…kill them, people his age or younger. People with families waiting for him back home, all of them hoping their loved one will be the one to make it out alive. What makes Arthur deserve to make it out alive more than anyone else here? Even the careers that volunteered for this have families rooting for them. They're just a bunch of kids, forced to fight to the death, all for the Capitol's sick entertainment… Just thinking about the death to come that he won't be able to stop makes his stomach churn and he has to stand back, afraid he's going to lose the lunch he ate earlier.

Arthur takes this time to glance around the room at the other tributes, not to assess which ones will be threats, but which ones need the most help for survival. It's certainly not the careers, who have spent all day honing their weapon skills, surely in an attempt to intimidate the others. And Arthur will admit…it's working. He's terrified watching Delta repeatedly stabbing targets in all the spots that will kill a person almost immediately, or Odyssey strike targets in the bullseye with their arrows every time, or Bellona taking down the trainer in hand to hand combat, all while blindfolded, or Demarcus lifting more than Arthur ways, or Anastacia expertly stabbing at a trainer with daggers in both hands, or Major show off his skills at killing in the agility course. These are people that aren't afraid to kill like Arthur. Those are the people he must avoid at all costs.

But they aren't the only ones trying their hand at weapons. Others are much braver than Arthur is and more willing to accept the idea of killing. The most willing is Sky, the small angry girl just destroying dummy after dummy with her knife, all while glaring over at the careers. The three girls that already had an alliance before training started have spent time learning weapons and training to fight, unafraid to work at separate stations but still gather to discuss things they've learned. The boy from Six – Elias – the one with the prostheses, is moving surprisingly well as he fights against trainers. He keeps getting knocked down, yet it doesn't stop him from getting back up and continuing to fight against them, not even stopping to acknowledge the pain he must be feeling. Carameuse keeps anxiously looking around and up at the Gamemakers as she tries her hand at using an axe, but keeps struggling to hit targets deep enough to cause a substantial injury, unlike Genesis doing much better with an axe in a direct fight.

But at least Arthur isn't the only one that has stuck to the survival stations. Davy has been at the survival stations all day, especially one about navigating using the stars that Arthur hadn't needed. Some time after lunch, he started to have a shadow following him around. Eliot has been excitedly following Davy all afternoon, asking lots of questions, and Arthur can see the surprise and confusion on the older boy's face at the young boy looking up to him for answers. Jessamine keeps looking over at the pair nervously as she works nearby and Arthur can only hope that she finds the courage to talk to them soon. Otherwise, he knows he'll take his District partner into an alliance and do his best to protect her. Over at the firemaking station, Atropa works hard at building a fire while Fete sleeps next to one already built. Arthur can't believe Fete has spent most of the day sleeping. And then there's Adam and Fox…they had approached him earlier and been friendly with him, yet Arthur had to leave as soon as he could. He couldn't stick around with the two dads and wait for them to ask him to join their alliance. Because he would have joined in a heartbeat if he let them ask him. How could he not protect two fathers trying to survive for their children? That was precisely what caused his own father's death and he doesn't want to be responsible for more kids growing up without a dad.

No…that was one alliance Arthur could not let himself get into, even if he wants to. He would die protecting Fox or Adam if he did.

It seems that most of the Outer District tributes today are focused more on learning the skills to survive, rather than forming alliances. Something Arthur is doing the same, despite Pinova stressing to him how important it will be to have at least one ally to balance out whatever sense he might lose.

Arthur realizes that he doesn't see one of the tributes and he looks around in confusion, before turning back to the plant identification station and jumping slightly at Calvin leaning against the podium, staring at Arthur. "Can I…help you?" Arthur asks politely, not knowing why Calvin is staring at him so intently.

"I think so," Calvin says after a moment of studying Arthur. "Cal Tailor," he says as he sticks his hand out towards Arthur.

"I know," Arthur says as he takes his hand, but starts getting embarrassed by Cal giving a weird look for knowing who he is. "I mean, I learned everyone's names and…well…everyone knows who you and Amelia are…" Arthur trails off into an awkward silence before clearing his throat. "I'm Arthur Bramble."

"I know," Cal repeats and Arthur smiles a little bit at him. Cal crosses his arms as he leans back and looks at Arthur, studying him for a few moments. "So, you seem to know quite a few survival skills."

Arthur nods his head in agreement as he looks back down at the plant identification station he was working on. So far, he's gotten over 85% correct every round. And he knows he has survival skills from helping out in Eleven. "Yeah I know a bit, just things I've picked up from running a rescue team back home."

Arthur looks up in time to see Cal raise an eyebrow at this before nodding his head in approval. "Rescue team?" Cal confirms and Arthur nods his head this time. "Excellent. I thought from the start that you would be a good choice for ally but didn't realize just how good you would be."

"Wait…ally?" Arthur asks him, wanting to make sure he heard that correctly. That Cal really wants to be his ally without knowing anything about what he's like aside from knowing a thing or two about survival. "I don't mean to be rude at all, but you don't know anything about me."

"I know that you can easily identify plants that are poisonous," Cal starts listing off things, counting on his fingers as he stares at Arthur, and that's when Arthur starts to notice the bags under his eyes and the red piece of cloth wrapped around his forehead. "You have built really sturdy traps. You built a fire and lit it in minutes. I'd bet you can also build a shelter in a short amount of time that wouldn't let rain in."

Arthur stares at him in shock, realizing these are all things that he has been doing today during training as he avoided the weapon stations. "You've been watching me," Arthur finally says, ignoring the praise he just received. He wasn't doing anything special, he was just learning things he was already comfortable with.

Cal shrugs at him, not seeming bothered that Arthur knows what he was doing. "I'm not dumb, I know I need to have an ally or two in these Games. I've grown up in Eight and now live in Three. My knowledge of plants and survival comes from books while you…you have first-hand experience. And that's invaluable in an ally."

"I don't know what to say," Arthur tells him honestly. He wasn't expecting anyone to just come up to him and want to be his ally. He was ready to join up with his District partner if he didn't find anyone. And to have it be Cal? One of the two tributes that's already known by the Capitol? One that is surely going to get sponsors. And he's smart, too, for getting into the District Three University summer program. Smarter than Arthur is. And he's seen Cal working at weapon stations earlier…

"Say you'll agree to be allies," Cal tells him and Arthur knows it's what he should say. "We'll balance each other out – you with your survival skills and me with my strength and brain. Look, I don't want to pretend this is something it isn't. I'm looking for someone to balance out skills I'm missing. So what do you think?"

Everything Cal has said is true and good points, yet Arthur is still hesitating to just agree to be his ally. And he knows it's hesitation to get to know anyone in these Games. He's afraid to get close to anyone and eventually have to choose between them and surviving. But…Cal said he just wants to be strictly allies, nothing more. And Pinova had stressed to him that if there was only one thing he did in training today, it should be to find at least one ally. "Okay," Arthur finally says and hopes he doesn't eventually regret it.

"Great," Cal says, giving Arthur a friendly nod before gently hitting the podium twice and stepping back. "I'm going to keep learning fighting skills and you should keep learning survival skills. Tomorrow we can meet up and teach each other what we've learned."

"Sounds good," Arthur says with a forced smile, trying to stay polite to his new ally while also dreading having to learn how to fight. But at least for the little time that remains in training today, he can keep doing the things he is comfortable with. Things that won't harm other tributes, unless he intentionally tries to hurt them.

Cal starts to pull down the red cloth around his head so his eyes are covered, but pauses to look at Arthur one more time. "Also try to get some practice with one of your senses taken away. It's…a lot harder than you think it would be."

Arthur nods his head as Cal pulls the red cloth completely around his eyes before realizing he can't see the action. "I'll try," Arthur tells him, knowing he should try but has avoided it out of fear of finally admitting to himself that in just a matter of days, he'll have one of his senses taken away.

Cal gives him a thumbs up before starting to walk away, turning his head a bunch to listen around him and nearly bumping into one of the adjacent plant identification stations. "Oh," he says and turns back to face Arthur, but ends up looking to Arthur's right instead. "Also think about other allies."

"Sure," Arthur agrees, but he really doesn't think Cal will want to be allies with any of the tributes Arthur wants to protect.

He watches his ally walk back towards the fighting stations before turning away, wanting to avoid them for just a little longer. But he can't bring his focus back to the station he was working on. He's too worried now having to accept the Games approaching.

Arthur takes a moment to look around before finding Jessamine still working alone and looking sadder by the minute. He starts walking over to her before he can help it, making sure to approach from in front of her to not spook her on accident after doing that on the train and feeling guilty about it for a while. Jessamine looks up as he sits down and he smiles at her and gives a wave of his hand in greeting. She smiles in return before sighing and writing on the piece of paper next to her, before passing it over to Arthur. _"I see you have an ally."_

Arthur glances up from the note to find Jessamine looking over at Davy and Eliot again. He quickly scratches out a response to her, hating feeling like he abandoned her by agreeing to be Cal's ally. _"You should talk to them."_ Jessamine shakes her head at this and Arthur keeps writing, wanting her to have allies like he does. _"Come on, they'll love you! And you have an advantage that no one else here has."_

" _I don't believe that,"_ Jessamine writes back to him before wrapping her arms around herself.

" _You already know what it's like to not have hearing – that's a_ _huge_ _advantage in this Quell."_

Jessamine stares down at this last statement for a while. Arthur only hopes she realizes what he said is true. After a while, Arthur can see the moment when she finally realizes this is true and she sighs as she writes out a single word to him. _"Tomorrow."_

* * *

 **Here we are, the end of training day one! I wanted to make sure we at least saw a little bit of what everyone is doing and also some hints at alliances. Don't worry, we'll see more of that in training day two! There's still lots of time for alliances to form and I have more plans. Also I know I originally had Elias here, but I decided to swap him with Arthur because I wanted to split up the D11 tributes.**

 **So what did you think? Will Major be successful in his manipulation of everyone? Is Arthur going to be successful at not trying to save people? What other alliances do you think will form?**

 **And as always, it's time to make a list of alliances! These are only the ones we've seen confirmed in this chapter:**

 **Look at us being friends this year! - Major, Anastacia, Odyssey, Bellona, Demarcus, Delta**

 **STEM Queens - Amelia, Eva, Courtney**

 **D8 Squad Game Strong - Fete, Atropa**

 **Sweet young ones - Davy, Eliot**

 **The Dads - Adam, Fox**

 **Strength and Survival - Calvin, Arthur**

 **No confirmed allies - Elias, Holly (Carameuse), Sky, Genesis, Jessamine**

 **Alrighty, see you all soon with Training Day Two! We'll be checking in with Elias and Jessamine next!**


	23. Training Day Two: Comfort In Numbers

**Chapter 19:**

 _Training Day Two_

 _Jessamine Briggs, 14, District Eleven_

Jessamine is trying her best to stay positive about training and focus on learning a ton at the numerous training stations available to her. But how is she supposed to focus when there's so much to learn? It's already day two of training and she feels like she's barely learned anything. She spent too much time yesterday at survival stations, hoping that would be where she could find an alliance, but no one has asked her to join them. And now she's spent a good portion of the morning struggling to handle a dagger. Her weak body can barely even stab it through a target…how is she going to be a threat to anyone? Or protect any allies? Well…that's if she finds any allies… Even Arthur now has an ally, one he told her last night probably won't take her. She's all alone and might have to go into the Games alone…

She blinks a few times to hold back tears that appear out of nowhere at the thought of the Games approaching in just a few days. No. She cannot let herself start thinking that way. If she does, she'll really never find an ally for herself. It's still early in the day. There's plenty of time for her to find someone to be her ally. She just might have to go talk to people herself – well, write to them. They can do the talking instead.

Jessamine laughs to herself at her joke and a small smile starts to form on her face, picking up her mood already. She reminds herself of what Arthur told her yesterday, and Kanzi agreed when Jessamine told her – she has an advantage here. Somehow, small, unimpressive Jessamine from Eleven has more of an advantage than the careers with their years of training. She turns to look around at the others to see if anyone is trying to train without hearing, finding Atropa wearing headphones to block out sound, and doing very poorly at not having her hearing anymore. The careers had been a bit better yesterday…but none of them were born deaf like her. It's going to take them all time to adapt.

But not her. And if the Gamemakers take away her smell or taste, well, she'll have no problem making it to the end!

Jessamine is smiling as she keeps looking around the training center, starting to feel better about her odds. Her gaze lands on a pair looking over at her and she has to glance back when they're waving over at her. She turns around, looking behind her to see if they're waving at someone behind her, but nope, the only person behind her is Anastacia, and she doubts two of the younger tributes in these Games are waving at the career.

But still, when Jessamine turns back around and finds them still looking at her, she points at her chest and asks them, "Me?" She doesn't want to get her hopes up that they really want to be her ally, but she sure is hoping they do. There aren't many options for her that are younger like her, only Davy, Eliot, and Sky. And she had tried talking to Sky but even being deaf, she can imagine the volume that Sky screamed at her. After that, she was kind of defeated about finding allies for the rest of the day…

Until now. Eliot is waving Jessamine over towards the pair, bouncing a bit on his feet as Davy watches, giving her a slightly nervous smile. Jessamine looks around once more just to check that they really want to talk to her, before setting down the dagger she was making no progress with and picking up her paper and pen once more. And then she sets off across the training center to hopefully her new allies. What's the worst that could happen if she asks them to be allies? They say no and that's it. She doesn't want that to happen…but it wouldn't be the worst thing.

Jessamine tries to keep a hopeful smile on her face as she approaches them, clutching her notebook closely to her chest. Eliot is bouncing on his feet more, grinning up at her as she gets closer. Up close, she starts to notice just how small he is. He starts talking away, way too fast for Jessamine to have any hope of trying to read his lips to figure out what he is saying to her. She stares at him in confusion, not knowing how to ask him to slow down or write in the notebook. But before she can ask, Davy puts a hand on Eliot's arm, making him stop talking right away and give the older boy a look of admiration that makes Davy pause for a moment, before turning to Jessamine. He looks nervous as he glances away from her, and Jessamine starts to worry that he is going to tell her that he doesn't want her as an ally. "Hi…" he finally says to her, giving her a small smile that Jessamine quickly returns. His cheeks start to redden a little as he gestures for her notebook, "May I?"

Jessamine quickly nods her head and passes it over, used to finding different ways to communicate with people. But mostly she's happy that he's taking the time to talk to her. Jessamine watches as Davy writes something down, Eliot watching over his shoulder and talking to him as he writes, still making Davy give him confused and nervous looks. But he soon finishes writing and hesitates for a moment as he looks at what he wrote, before passing it back to Jessamine and avoiding looking at her.

Jessamine quickly reads over the note before she can let herself start worrying about the possible disappointment, but finds she doesn't have to worry about that. _"Do you want to train with us?"_

Jessamine grins up at Davy and nods her head, making Eliot let out what she assumes is a cheer of excitement and Davy smile at her, still looking uncertain about Eliot talking animatedly to him. Jessamine feels a brief pang of sadness that she can't participate in their conversation, but lets it quickly fade away. She's been this way her whole life…she can't change that, even if she sometimes wishes she could. But, at least she won't be the only one like this in a few days. That thought shouldn't make her happy, but it does. She is looking forward to being like others.

She realizes that she's been staring at the two boys for too long as Davy and Eliot look at her expectantly, and she asks them quickly, _"Where?"_

Eliot is the first to respond, looking over at a course as he answers her, and making Jessamine a little confused from reading his lips because she does not think he said octopus. Davy notices her confusion and gives her a gentle smile before pointing over at a station. Ohhh, obstacle course. Yeah, that makes a lot more sense. Jessamine chuckles to herself at this and Davy gives her a curious look as Eliot starts walking – well, more running – over to the obstacle course. Jessamine quickly scrawls out an explanation to him, _"I thought he said octopus, not obstacle, and was very confused."_

Davy reads this over as they start walking after Eliot, and he laughs a little at what she said. He slows as he walks to write and Jessamine watches him, already liking him and just getting a pleasant vibe from him, making her really hope that she can be allies with him. He passes her back the notebook, making Jessamine laugh this time. _"Not sure what an octopus station would involve, maybe camouflaging yourself into an octopus?"_

Jessamine shrugs her shoulders at him as they reach the station where Eliot is already getting instructions from the trainer, looking impatient as he waits to be allowed to go through the course. Jessamine is fine with letting him go first so she can see exactly what she needs to do in it.

Davy gently motions for her to pass the notebook back to him and she does, watching Eliot start weaving through the platforms at various heights and avoiding ropes trying to trip him. Soon enough, Davy nudges Jessamine's arm with the notebook at she takes it back from him. _"It's his favorite station."_

" _It looks fun, I just haven't tried it yet,"_ Jessamine responds to him, chuckling a little when she looks up at Eliot and sees him all tangled up in a pile of ropes with the trainer walking over to help him out. _"Hopefully I don't get stuck like him,"_ Jessamine adds before passing the notebook back to Davy.

She glances over at him as he takes the notebook, a little worried that he will be annoyed at having to communicate with her this way instead of just talking to her like he would with Eliot. But she finds his gaze attentive and focused on her, just like he has when talking to Eliot. _"I'm sure you'll be fine,"_ he tells her and she gives a little shrug, not really knowing how well she'll do until it's her turn. They stand there without writing for a minute, watching Eliot as he gets detangled and immediately gets back to running through the course, not phased at all about getting stuck. Jessamine doesn't write anything else, a little nervous about talking to him because she doesn't want to get her hopes up higher than they already are. But surely it's a good sign that he wants to be her ally if he invited her to join them while training and he's talking to her.

Jessamine sees in the corner of her eye someone approaching a station next to them and she glances over, smiling at Carameuse when she looks over at them. The girl from Seven immediately looks away, anxious look on her face that makes Jessamine start frowning, almost wanting to go talk to her. She can understand being nervous about talking to other tributes. Just look at how long it took her to talk to Davy and Eliot. Maybe she could be allies with Carameuse if things don't work out with the two boys. But as soon as she has that thought, her stomach starts twisting at it and she knows she doesn't want that to happen. She likes Davy and Eliot, already knowing from the short time talking to them that they're good people. Davy just has that appearance of being kind, and Jessamine has always gravitated towards those kinds of people.

As Eliot starts to near the end of the course, Davy gently pulls the notebook back from Jessamine. He writes something down and when he hands it to her, he's still focused on her, even if he keeps glancing nervously away from her before bringing his gaze back to her. _"Do you have any allies?"_

Jessamine starts frowning at this and shakes her head at Davy, avoiding his gaze because she doesn't want to see the look on his face if he doesn't ask her to be his ally. But she does eventually look back up to him, finding him looking just as nervous as she is. "Do you…" Davy starts talking before cutting himself off and giving her an apologetic look as he takes the notebook back to write out a response. He takes his time writing, pausing often and twirling the pen around in his hand as he figures out what to say to her. And Jessamine just watches him, anxiously hoping he is going to ask her to join them. Finally, he hands the notebook back to her, and Jessamine quickly scans over the note, even if part of her wants to not read it and stay blissfully unaware in case it's not what she wants to read. _"Sorry, I'm trying my best to remember to talk to you through writing, not speech…"_ Jessamine smiles at this, further believing that Davy is a good boy for going out of his way to include her in the conversation. _"Do you want to join our alliance?"_

Jessamine immediately nods her head at this a bunch of times, sending her curly hair flying around her face and making Davy smile at the action. _"Absolutely!"_ She quickly scribbles out to him, too happy at finally having allies to count on in the arena.

Eliot runs back over to them, looking excitedly between Davy and Jessamine both smiling. He says something to Davy in a rush and when Davy nods his head and says yes, he throws his hands up and lets out what Jessamine assumes is a cheer. Jessamine chuckles at his reaction as he takes the notebook and writes out a quick note to her before practically shoving the notebook towards her. _"I'm so excited to have you in our alliance!"_

Jessamine grins at this, her nerves from earlier finally starting to dissipate now that she has not just one, but two allies. She glances around the training center briefly, finding Arthur looking over at her. When he catches her gaze, he gives her a quick thumbs up before turning back to working with Calvin. This action makes Jessamine want to go over and thank him, because she should have listened to him right away.

He was right about Davy and Eliot. Her allies.

* * *

 _Elias Pilkvist, 17, District Six_

Elias stares up at the tall climbing wall, struggling with what to do next. For far too long, he has always done what he has been told. He has fought and trained because his parents told him to, and he lost his legs from it. He fought in the fighting pits in District Six because Cecy told him it would help him earn money, and it did. He has never been happier than the day he brought home his first paycheck as the champion of the faceless man and knew it would help out Cecy.

But Elias is not in District Six anymore. He does not have his parents or Cecy telling him what he should be doing. His mentor has tried, but even when Elias pleaded for him to tell him exactly what to do, he shook his head and said it was up to Elias to find out what skills he needs to fight and survive. Elias faulted back to what he has always done for the first day of training and fought against the trainers, always being careful to not let anyone know about his condition. That was what Cecy made him promise to do before he left. If they do not know, then maybe they will take away a sense he already does not have or is limited. And fighting had felt good. It was familiar and something Elias could do without thinking about his next step. That is not the case with the station he stands in front of now.

Elias wearily looks up at the wall, trying to figure out where exactly he lost his grip on the wall with his prostheses. Every time he will get a little higher up but then fall back down, getting the breath knocked out of him but not feeling any pain from slamming onto the foam mats below. He does not know why he is still trying to climb this, even after realizing climbing is not something he is good at. Maybe he just wants to achieve this one thing that he decided for himself. Maybe he does not want to look weak in front of the others for giving up. Or maybe he just really wants to see what it is like at the top of the wall.

"Are you sure you don't want to take a break?" The trainer at this station asks him once again and Elias looks over at her, staring with wide eyes to figure out her tone and how he should response.

"I am sure," Elias finally responds, not sounding too sure of himself. He has not felt sure of himself all day…but the routine of climbing, falling down, and getting back up again is enough to remind him of the routines of the drills back home, and he does not want to stop yet. "I am almost there."

"Alright then…but if you fall again, I'm going to insist you take a short break. Those falls can hurt."

Hurt…Elias stares at her, not knowing what it is like to feel hurt, but she is looking at him like he should know. And if he wants to make sure they do not know about him, he will have to listen to her. "Okay."

Elias does not want to stop though. He wants to get to the top of that wall. One more try.

Elias steps towards the wall, looking at the small outcroppings that he can step on. The first part of the climb is easy, even if he does have to pause often to keep his prostheses from slipping. But this part he has climbed many times and knows exactly where to step. The same cannot be said about the upper third of the wall. Elias nearly slips several times, swinging in the air by just his hands as he scrambles to find somewhere to stand again. But each time, he just slips once more.

Elias whimpers as he realizes that he is going to fall again and have to stop. He does not want to! He wants to make it up to the top of the wall that's so close he can see the top of it – and a face peering down at him. "That spot, to your left," she says, pointing down next to Elias.

He scrunches his face as he looks up at her, trying to understand what she is doing, but when his fingers start to slip, he looks down at the place she pointed to and swings his legs over. It takes a second to get a sturdy placement on it, but eventually he does and can push himself up a little and relieve some of the strain he can't feel on his arms, but knows is there. He takes this time to look up at the girl, confused about what to say to her. "Thank you?"

The girl blinks down at him as he stares back up at her for a few seconds, before she nods her head. "Next spot by your right knee."

Elias looks down at the spot she points at, studying it and trying to figure out what makes it different than the others. Soon, he notices the slight flatness to it and once he has figured that out, he is able to look better at upcoming spots as he finishes up the climb, occasionally getting helped by the kind girl above him. When he finally reaches the top and pulls himself over, the girl smiles at him and gives him a pat on the shoulder. "Nice job."

Elias takes a deep breath from the exertion of climbing as he sits up, letting his legs hang over the edge of the wall as he looks out at the training center. He was right…the view is nice up here and he can see everything.

"It's a nice view, isn't it?" The girl asks him and Elias stares at her, confused as to why she has decided to talk to him. Now that he is up close, he recognizes her: Genesis. "I've been up here for a while, trying not to get stressed by everything."

Elias continues to stare at her, feeling shy about being with another tribute and not knowing what to even say to her. But she is giving him a look that reminds him of Cecy, and he wants to keep talking to her, even if he struggles to keep up the conversation. "I am glad I got up here."

Genesis nods her head in agreement and turns to look back out at the other tributes, and Elias does the same. He can see all the tributes easily, which means he can also see those that are trained to kill, or moving through the obstacle course quickly. Three of the youngest tributes are moving through the course faster than he ever could. They would probably be able to climb the wall much faster than he did.

"I do not think I should climb in the arena," Elias says to her, knowing he would not have made it up fast enough if tributes were chasing him. He starts to shake from the sudden sadness at that realization, unable to control his reaction. He would have died if this was the arena and he tried to escape by climbing. "I would be dead and Cecy would be alone."

"You don't have to climb," Genesis tells him, her voice smooth and calm, reminding him of how Cecy talks to him. "Just stand there and fight them. The only ones that can fight like you are the careers… How did someone from Six learn to fight like that?"

Elias turns to look at her, studying her expression as he mulls over what to say. He cannot say anything about back home. He would get everyone in trouble. But he cannot lie to her…he cannot stand lies…and she asked him a question. A question she is waiting for an answer, looking at him differently from how the other tributes have stared at him as he takes his time answering. And that is enough for him to know to be honest with her. "I fight back home."

Genesis does not show any emotion on her face as she stares at Elias. "Are you going to fight like that in the arena?"

Elias starts shaking once more as he thinks about the arena, hating the thought of having blood on his hands, even if the blood is from a career. He does not want to kill anyone, but he wants to get back home to Cecy… But he does not want to do what his parents trained him to do for years and scare away Cecy… "I will fight to protect myself but I will not kill if I can avoid it."

Genesis does not answer this right away, making Elias start to worry that he said something wrong. He always says something wrong in social situations and makes people leave him. Everyone but Cecy…

"Do you want to be allies?"

Elias blinks at the sudden question and stares at Genesis, really wondering if she means it. "Do I want to…" Elias repeats, thinking over the question. Does he want to be allies? He had not thought about allies yet as he was too scared to approach anyone. He did not want to mess up a situation. But now…now with the option right in front of him, he does want to have an ally. He does not want to be alone in the arena with no one to help tell him what they should do or let him know if he is injured. He suddenly starts grinning, very happy at the thought of having someone with him. "Yes. I would like that a lot."

"Good," Genesis smiles a little at him before looking away, back at the tributes below them. Elias keeps grinning at her – his _ally_ – for a few seconds, before following her gaze back to the tributes. They sit in silence for a few minutes, and Elias does not feel like he has to be saying something to fill it. But soon Genesis sighs and he looks over at her, concerned about her. "We should get back to training."

Elias nods his head obediently at this right away, before realizing he should not be following instructions so quickly. But Genesis seems so kind… "Okay."

"Have you used any weapons?" Genesis asks him and he shakes his head at her. He has only fought with his fists and prostheses. "I can show you how to use an axe, if you like."

Elias nods at her and she stands up, looking down at him expectantly. He looks over at the drop down nervously, knowing it is a long fall. But Genesis offers him her hand and after a moment he takes it, letting her pull him up and waiting until he gets his balance before letting go. She leads the way to the side and a set of stairs down, and Elias follows after her, smiling from having someone to help guide him.

They spend the rest of the afternoon showing each other the things they have learned and Genesis takes her time explaining things to him, just like Cecy does when teaching him. And she never gets frustrated at him when he struggles to understand anything she says.

All too soon it is time for training to end and Elias starts frowning and shaking, not wanting to stop already. But before he can start walking over towards the elevators with the rest of the tributes, he hears his name called out and freezes in place. Genesis gives him a concerned look as he looks up at the Head Gamemaker staring down at him. "Can you stay for a minute? We won't keep you long."

Elias looks over at Genesis, frozen in place by fear. Have they figured out his condition? Are they going to tell him that he will lose one of the two senses he has that aren't effected in some way? He is in trouble, he just knows it.

Genesis places a hand on his shoulder as tears start forming in his eyes. "It will be fine. I'll see you tomorrow?"

Elias nods his head, but cannot form any words to say to her as he watches her leave with the other tributes, a few of them curiously looking at him being told to wait behind. Tears keep falling down his cheeks in fear and when the elevator doors close behind the last tribute, he cries out in a sob.

"Why are you crying?" Head Gamemaker Lukianas asks him, confused look on his face.

Elias tries to wipe away his tears as he keeps sobbing. "Am I- am I in trouble?"

"Trouble?" The Head Gamemaker shakes his head at this right away, making Elias sniffle as he tries to stop his sobbing. "No, not at all. I just wanted to ask if you would like prostheses made here in the Capitol that are sturdier."

Elias stares down at his prostheses, knowing that these were fixed up by Cecy and they are special to him. He does not want to give them up. "Cecy made these nice for me… I want to keep them."

Head Gamemaker Lukianas gives him a weird look that Elias does not understand, but Elias starts shaking his head, knowing he will not give up these prostheses. "Are you sure? It could help you out."

Elias shifts on the prostheses, wondering if the Capitol ones would help him climb easier. But he loves these ones. It lets him keep a part of Cecy with him. "I am sure."

* * *

 **And we are now done with training! I hope this was fun and you enjoyed seeing the alliances form. We still have lots of opportunities to see them interacting together during the remaining pre-Games chapters!**

 **So thoughts on this chapter? How do you think these two alliances will hold up in the arena?**

 **The alliance list is still of course subject to change as there's still quite a bit of time left in the Capitol. But here is the current list!**

 **Look at us being friends this year! - Major, Anastacia, Odyssey, Bellona, Demarcus, Delta**

 **STEM Queens - Amelia, Eva, Courtney**

 **D8 Squad Game Strong - Fete, Atropa**

 **Sweet young ones - Davy, Eliot, Jessamine**

 **The Dads - Adam, Fox**

 **Strength and Survival - Calvin, Arthur**

 **Socially awkward duo - Elias, Genesis**

 **No confirmed allies - Holly (Carameuse), Sky**

 **Next up we'll be checking in with Eliot and also seeing the private sessions report! If I get my butt moving, that might also be up this weekend! But first, we gotta have some Games chaos with Wayward. See you soon!**


	24. Private Sessions

**A/N: Please be sure to read the note at the end for a submitter check in!**

 **Chapter 20:**

 _Eliot Eidner, 13, District Nine_

Despite the laughs occasionally coming from Jessamine as he purposely messes around with Jessamine's instructions as she teaches him how to sign the alphabet, a part of him is still worried that he's going to be too much for his allies. No one really wants to be alone in the arena, especially him. He's never really been alone, always having his family or friends around to mess with. And now that he has Davy and Jessamine as he allies, he really doesn't want to push them away from him. Davy just seems like a really cool guy and he hasn't pushed Eliot away for being a 'little kid' like so many of the others have when he tried to talk to people during training. And he's so smart and keeping a brave face during all of this, something Eliot admires and he knows his family would like Davy. And Jessamine is a lot of fun, having a surprising sense of humor that's kept Eliot trying to one up her. It doesn't really seem fair that Eliot met such nice people that he gets along with here in the Capitol before they go into the Games, but he's unfortunately learned before that life isn't fair.

So Eliot is taking full advantage of the time he has today to spend it with his allies. And they have had plenty of time for that today as they wait for what seems like forever for their private sessions. He's jealous of Davy, having already gone hours ago. Normally he would be exaggerating about that, but the clock in the room tells him that it really has been hours. He's confused by this, having been told by Mazie that each tribute would have fifteen minutes, but the math doesn't hold up there. They have kept them well fed, at least, but Eliot can tell he's not the only one growing impatient at the wait. But at least the girl from Eight went in not too long ago, meaning he should be up soon.

"Should I be nervous?" Eliot asks Jessamine, absentmindedly snapping his fingers as he stares up at the clock. He turns over to her for her response, realizing she wouldn't have been able to see what he said. He writes on the notebook he asked an avox to bring him so he would stop having to pass Jessamine's back and forth before showing it to her. _"I'm not nervous, are you?"_

Jessamine shrugs at him, glancing over at the clock before answering. _"A little bit…more ready to do something instead of just sitting here."_

" _That bored of me already?"_ Eliot cracks a grin at this as Jessamine's eyes widen at his question and she quickly shakes her head at him.

" _Of course not!"_

Before Eliot can get the chance to response to her, his name is announced in the room. He looks over at Jessamine as nerves slam into him at the realization that it's finally time for him to go and try and impress the Gamemakers. _"Gotta go, good luck with your session!"_

Jessamine smiles and quickly signs something at him as he stands up, and he at least recognizes the sign for 'you' from her teaching him things. But he doesn't have time to ask as Sky yells over at him taking his time, "Hurry up already, we're tired of waiting here!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going, I'm going," Eliot answers as he almost runs out of the room, not wanting to be near his mean District partner. He really isn't sure if he did anything personally wrong to her, but it sure feels like it.

But there is no time to keep thinking about that as he enters the training center and pauses for a moment to stare around in wonder at the room. It's been completely transformed since he was here yesterday afternoon. But someone clears their throat, bringing his attention over to the Gamemakers.

"Good afternoon, Eliot," Head Gamemaker Lukianas calls down to him as he approaches the Gamemakers, looking around still at how completely different the training center looks compared to yesterday evening. "Thank you for patiently waiting for your turn."

"Well not much else we could do aside from wait," Eliot responds to him, giving him that cute little kid smile that he knows adults always love. And from the look on the magenta haired woman next to the Head Gamemaker, he knows it's working a little bit. "But maybe next time you can provide some board games or something while we wait."

"Yes, perhaps," Head Gamemaker Lukianas says with an amused smile, even though his voice gives away his exhaustion. "Now let's not keep you waiting any longer. As you have already noticed, this area has been remodeled since you were last in here. That is because you will be doing something unconventional for your private session. The scores are to give Panem an idea of how well each tribute will fare in the arena. And given the Quell twist, we want to provide a…truly accurate score."

Eliot stares up at him in confusion, wondering just what this might mean for him. "I am confused, Mr. Lukianas, sir."

"It will make sense soon," the Head Gamemaker reassures him, pausing slightly to chuckle at something that makes the woman next to him shake her head. "Unintentional pun there. Anyways, instead of showing off any skills of choice, you will be placed in five trials. In each one, you will be given a certain task to complete while you temporarily have one of your five senses removed. We will start with sight." At Head Gamemaker Lukianas' words, the lights brighten on one of what Eliot now realizes are five stations. The first is a small area at the center of a ring and standing around it are five trainers, along with a weapon rack. Eliot immediately starts to feel terrified at the thought of losing his sight, even if it might be for just a moment. "Take your pick of weapon and stand in the center. You'll try your best to defend yourself for five minutes against the trainers."

"O-okay," Eliot says nervously as he picks up a slingshot from the weapon rack, knowing it's the only thing he feels comfortable using among the sharp weapons. Then he takes the spot in the center, marked on the floor with an 'x', and loads the slingshot. "So uh…how will this work? Will you just-" Eliot gasps as all of a sudden his vision blackens and he blinks frantically, hating the complete sensory loss of his vision. He turns his head around, struggling to focus on what is happening around him, but it's so hard to stop the panic building in him from losing his sight. Oh God, how is he going to have even a remote chance of winning if he gets this sense taken away in the arena?

"Begin."

Eliot turns around, holding up his slingshot and aiming at nothing in particular, unable to slow down his anxious breathing so he can listen to the trainers approaching him. In what feels like seconds, there's a tap on his back and he screams out, letting go of the loaded slingshot and hearing it ricochet in the distance.

And just like that, his vision returns and Eliot rubs at his eyes in relief at having his sense returned. He doesn't even care that he failed that trial…he just wants to be able to see.

"Next up is the hearing trial," Head Gamemaker Lukianas says and lights appear over a small forested area. "You'll have a minute to hide and then must remain hidden from the five trainers for the remaining four minutes. It will start when your sense is taken away."

Sounds simple enough to Eliot, but he's still a little panicked from losing his sight as he heads over to the space. He stands at the edge of the forest and looks over at the Gamemakers nervously, wondering when they will take it away. It's a slow loss and for a few seconds, it's mostly like the Gamemakers talking to each other sounds like it's moving away until…nothing. Not a single sound. Eliot rubs a hand by his ear and claps his hands, yet there's no sound. The feeling isn't as disconcerting as the loss of his sight, until he realizes his minute is ticking away and he is wasting time. He starts running into the forest, immediately stumbling as his sense of balance is thrown completely off. He reaches out and grabs a tree, his stomach churning out of nowhere. But he glances back, still able to see the trainers – at least he _can_ see them – and takes off running again, bumping into the trees and feeling branches slap him in the face.

He doesn't know how much time has passed until he stops and turns around, getting creeped out standing in the darkness of the area and being unable to hear a sound. He slowly turns, trying not to upset his stomach further, trying to see any of the trainers. He catches a glint of silver and drops to the ground just before an arrow flies towards him and bounces off the tree he was standing in front of. Eliot whimpers in fear as he tries to roll under a bush, unaware of just how much noise he is making, until a trainer appears in front of him and presses the tip of their sword against his chest.

And with that, his hearing is brought back with a ringing, and he shakes his head to try and get rid of it. The trainer leads him back out as he's rubbing his ears, again worried about losing that sense. But maybe in the arena he can do better if he's with Jessamine.

"The touch trial." Lights appear on an elaborate obstacle course and Eliot slowly starts to smile. He can do this, that was his favorite station. "You must make it as far as possible without your sense of touch in five minutes."

Eliot nods and is a bit more cheerful about approaching this station. As he stands on the platform at the start, absentmindedly snapping his fingers, he starts to notice he no longer has the sensation of feeling his fingers. He can feel the pressure of it, but not the actual touch. He pinches the back of his hand and doesn't feel it, but grimaces when he leaves a red mark and knows he didn't pinch himself gently. "You may begin."

Eliot takes off through the course, jumping up on the different platforms, his hands sometimes slipping a little on things, until he reaches a wooden bridge, complete with swinging weapons on it that he has to avoid. He uses his small size and quick speed to dodge them, only noticing when one hits him from getting slightly knocked off balance. But he keeps moving forward, having fun with this. Maybe losing his sense of touch isn't too bad! He reaches the end of the course and grins up at the Gamemakers, happy he completed one trial. But as his touch comes back to him, he grimaces at the pain in his shoulder and looks down to find rope burns on his hands.

"Next up, the taste trial." The lights appear over a long table filled with plants. "You must identify the plants that are safe."

"Sounds simple enough," Eliot says as he approaches, before getting grossed out at the mushrooms there. As he stands there, he moves his tongue around, noticing he can no longer taste the garlic that was still lingering from his lunch.

"Go ahead."

Eliot doesn't recognize most of the plants on the table, but just starts making guesses about them. But he leaves the mushrooms untouched, hating them so much he doesn't even want to handle them. He soon has three piles: safe, poisonous, and unsure. "Okay, I'm done."

"Pick up the item closest to you in the safe pile and eat it."

Eliot's eyes widen at this, realizing that this plant is one of the ones he wasn't fully sure on, but decided to just guess as being safe. But at the urging of the trainers, he hesitantly takes a bite out of it, not tasting anything on it that would give him a sign that it's poisonous.

"Only five out of thirteen in that pile are safe, not including the one you ate. You would be dead in thirty minutes," Head Gamemaker Lukianas calls down to him and Eliot spits out whatever is left in his mouth. "But these plants have been designed to be non-toxic. That will not be the case in the arena."

Eliot's stomach churns at this, and he's not quite sure he believes this.

"And last, the smell trial." The lights go on over the final area, a maze from what Eliot can see. "Filled with things that could easily be identified as harmful by smell. Your goal is simply to reach the end."

Eliot is leery about this sounding simple as a variety of smells hit him as he approaches, before quickly being extinguished with the loss of his sense. "You may start."

Eliot starts running into the maze, hitting a couple dead ends, and starting to feel nervous about it. He starts breathing heavier and his head feels light headed as he rounds a corner, spotting a can on the floor leaking gas right before he passes out.

* * *

 _The following contains the assessment for each tribute in the Sixth Quarter Quell following the private sessions. Each tribute was tested in five different scenarios with each sense temporarily taken away to assess their capabilities to survive. Tributes were given a score out of five for each trial in addition to a score from the Head Gamemaker and weighted to be out of twelve. The five trials are as follows:_

 _Sight Trial – Tributes were placed in a confined area and trainers slowly entered the area. They had to do their best to defend themselves against the threats._

 _Hearing Trial – Tributes were placed in a forest area and instructed to avoid being caught by trainers hunting them._

 _Touch Trial – Tributes were instructed to go through an elaborate obstacle course._

 _Taste Trial – Tributes were instructed to properly identify an assortment of plants, some poisonous and some safe, then eat one of the plants they deemed 'safe'._

 _Smell Trial – Tributes were placed in a maze with a few things to avoid that are easily identifiable by smell._

 _Please be sure to read through the following information thoroughly for detailed descriptions of their skills, allies, odds, interview suggestions, and any additional notes. If you have any questions, direct them to Laelia (kidding, send them to Seraphim and_ _please_ _not to Ophelia)._

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

 _ **MAJOR EMERSON-NESS, AGE EIGHTEEN, DISTRICT ONE**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 3_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 5_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 4_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 5_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 4_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 5_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 11_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Major is in the career alliance with Anastacia Astoria [1], Odyssey Gunderson [2], Bellona Silvanus [2], Demarcus Pollock [4], and Delta Zale [4]. He has spent a majority of training getting to know each member of his alliance but seems to have a tense relationship with Anastacia._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: I don't think Major will have a problem at all talking in front of the crowd and winning them over. Bring up his score – people are going to be surprised by it. Also talk about his family and the legacy he has to live up to._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Major's sweet appearance and attitude completely hide just how lethal he is. I am looking forward to seeing the reactions to him receiving one of the highest scores._

* * *

 _ **ANASTACIA ASTORIA, AGE EIGHTEEN, DISTRICT ONE**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 3_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 5_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 4_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 2_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 4_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 4_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 9_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Anastacia is in an alliance with Major Emerson-Ness [1], Odyssey Gunderson [2], Bellona Silvanus [2], Demarcus Pollock [4], and Delta Zale [4]. She seems to have a tense relationship with Major and has ignored his attempts to be friendly during training._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Anastacia isn't a very talkative person so do your best with her. Ask her about her reasons for volunteering as that should bring up a fire in her._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Eventually the tension between her and Major is going to reach its breaking point and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens._

* * *

 _ **ODYSSEY GUNDERSON, AGE EIGHTEEN, DISTRICT TWO**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 3_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 5_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 5_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 4_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 4_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 4_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 10_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Odyssey is in an alliance with Major Emerson-Ness [1], Anastacia Astoria [1], Bellona Silvanus [2], Demarcus Pollock [4], and Delta Zale [4]. He has a very good friendship with Bellona and gets along well with the others in his alliance._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: There has been a special request made by Odyssey for his interview and we're allowing it. You won't be interviewing Odyssey Gunderson, rather Venus Nahara and she will put on quite the show. Also be prepared for lots of dad jokes._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Odyssey is a well-rounded tribute and has the skills to win, but he may have grown too close to Bellona. Only time is going to reveal if this friendship will implode and prevent District Two from gaining another Quell victor._

* * *

 _ **BELLONA SILVANUS, AGE EIGHTEEN, DISTRICT TWO**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 5_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 3_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 4_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 5_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 4_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 4_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 10_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Bellona is in an alliance with Major Emerson-Ness [1], Anastacia Astoria [1], Odyssey Gunderson [2], Demarcus Pollock [4], and Delta Zale [4]. She has a very good friendship with Odyssey and has made sure to talk to everyone in her alliance and get to know them._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Bellona is a social person so there won't be any issues with her talking. Do the usual questions with Bellona, but also bring up Odyssey. I'm curious how she'll respond._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Bellona has deadly skills with poison and could prove quite deadly for the others. But from the looks she's been giving Odyssey, there may be something there that brings her down._

* * *

 _ **CALVIN TAILOR, AGE EIGHTEEN, DISTRICT THREE**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 4_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 2_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 3_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 3_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 3_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 4_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 6_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Calvin is in an alliance with Arthur Bramble [11]. This alliance appears to be strictly to balance out missing skills. He does have some history with Amelia and while they are polite to each other, it does not seem like they are friends._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: You know how the crowds love connections to previous Games so_ _carefully_ _ask him about his brother. Also talk about getting into the university summer program._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Calvin should have received a higher score of 8 but he asked us to receive a 6 to not appear as a threat._

* * *

 _ **AMELIA FENSA, AGE EIGHTEEN, DISTRICT THREE**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 1_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 4_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 2_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 2_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 3_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 3_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 6_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Amelia is in an alliance with Eva Orville-Wright [5] and Courtney Cassini [6]. She seems to be slowly growing more comfortable with her allies and is closer to Courtney. She also has no issue with Eva being the leader._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Ask her how she has been doing in the past year. Discuss with her being accepted to the university – she has a unique relationship with our most recent victor that the audience will love._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Over the past few days of watching Amelia, there's been a noticeable change in her demeanor. Only time will tell if this continues and gives her the motivation to win, not just for herself but her brother Aero._

* * *

 _ **DEMARCUS POLLOCK, AGE EIGHTEEN, DISTRICT FOUR**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 4_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 4_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 5_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 5_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 4_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 3_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 10_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Demarcus is in an alliance with Major Emerson-Ness [1], Anastacia Astoria [1], Odyssey Gunderson [2], Bellona Silvanus [2], and Delta Zale [4]. He has been doing his best to be polite with them but has struggled with the socializing._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Do your best to slowly ease him into the interview and get him comfortable with the crowd. Be careful asking about his family to not make him nervous but to use it as his motivation._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Demarcus is well trained in both how to fight and survival, but his anxiety might be his downfall when he faces the pressure of the Games._

* * *

 _ **DELTA ZALE, AGE SEVENTEEN, DISTRICT FOUR**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 2_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 3_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 5_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 4_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 4_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 5_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 11_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Delta is in an alliance with Major Emerson-Ness [1], Anastacia Astoria [1], Odyssey Gunderson [2], Bellona Silvanus [2], and Demarcus Pollock [4]. She has rejected all attempts to be friendly from Major, Odyssey, and Bellona and seems to get along best with Anastacia as she also isn't a big talker._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Good luck with this firecracker._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Delta is extremely loyal to the Capitol and absolutely determined to win these Games. This loyalty and dedication is being rewarded with her score. She has a good shot if she doesn't let her anger get the best of her._

* * *

 _ **DAVY EMMERICH, AGE FOURTEEN, DISTRICT FIVE**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 1_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 2_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 1_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 4_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 2_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 2_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 5_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Davy is in an alliance with Eliot Eidner [9] and Jessamine Briggs [11]. It appears as if he is reluctantly the leader in the alliance, but slowly he seems to be growing more comfortable with it._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Help him grow comfortable with the crowd. Ask him about his passions with green energy and also his relationship with the Calder family._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Davy is very smart and seems to know the skills to survive. However, his age and size may be his downfall if he runs into any tributes older and/or larger than him that are willing to fight._

* * *

 _ **EVA ORVILLE-WRIGHT, AGE EIGHTEEN, DISTRICT FIVE**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 1_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 3_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 1_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 3_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 2_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 3_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 5_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Eva is in an alliance with Amelia Fensa [3] and Courtney Cassini [6]. She has made no pretenses of friendship with them and has allies to make up for skills she lacks._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Eva tells it as it is so be prepared for that. Ask her what she thinks about her odds and also her alliance._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: She knows what she wants and isn't afraid to work for it. She asked for a score that accurately reflects her chances and I believe a 5 is that score._

* * *

 _ **ELIAS PILKVIST, AGE SEVENTEEN, DISTRICT SIX**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 3_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 4_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 4_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 1_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 3_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 4_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 8_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Elias Pilkvist is in an alliance with Genesis Barrett [10]. Genesis seems to be the only one comfortable with Elias and his behavior._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Try your best to not become uncomfortable with how he stares at you. He does not mean to make you uncomfortable. Avoid larger words and jokes._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Elias has shown surprising fighting abilities and can hold his own against skilled fighters. He is going to be an unexpected threat in the arena._

* * *

 _ **COURTNEY CASSINI, AGE SIXTEEN, DISTRICT SIX**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 3_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 4_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 1_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 3_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 2_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 3_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 6_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Courtney is in an alliance with Amelia Fensa [3] and Eva Orville-Wright [5]. Courtney seems to have a similar relationship with both Amelia and Eva, despite Eva's attempts to stay strictly allies._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Use this time to reveal to the crowd the special guest performing at the party. Courtney's reaction is going to be great._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Courtney showed that she's unafraid to try bold and new things in training. Perhaps she'll be willing to take chances in the arena._

* * *

 _ **ADAM VIGNOLA, AGE EIGHTEEN, DISTRICT SEVEN**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 1_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 1_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 1_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 2_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 1_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 1_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 2_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Adam is in an alliance with Fox Durham [10]. Fox immediately talked to Adam and has really helped him out, even jokingly calling their alliance 'The Dads'._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: There's no way you can avoid asking about the baby…just be ready for the crowd to grow upset._ _Do not_ _ask about the other parent._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Adam could have received a higher score but was unable to complete the tasks to his full capabilities after panicking when he lost touch and was unable to feel his baby… But his odds are not very good as he has refused to use weapons._

* * *

 _ **CARAMEUSE JUNIPER, AGE SEVENTEEN, DISTRICT SEVEN**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 1_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 1_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 2_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 4_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 2_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 1_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 12_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Carameuse is in no alliances and has kept to herself during training._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Waste as much time as you can talking about anything but Carameuse. Please don't question why and just know these orders are from the President._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Carameuse is a threat and needs to be eliminated. Hopefully her score will achieve that._

* * *

 _ **FETE BAYARD, AGE EIGHTEEN, DISTRICT EIGHT**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 1_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 1_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 1_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 1_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 1_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 1_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 1_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Fete is in an alliance with Atropa Seigal [8]. These two are very close friends and it seems like they both are trying to get the other home alive._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Fete might try to sleep during his interview so do your best to keep him awake. He worked with his stylist for his interview outfit so discuss that and the business he runs back home._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Fete slept during his entire private session and most of training. Despite stubbornly insisting he needs to get Atropa home instead, it's unclear if he'll put in the effort for that._

* * *

 _ **ATROPA SEIGAL, AGE SEVENTEEN, DISTRICT EIGHT**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 1_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 2_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 3_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 2_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 3_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 2_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 5_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Atropa is in an alliance with Fete Bayard [8]. These two are very close friends and it seems like they both are trying to get the other home alive. She could have had other allies but insisted that she is a package deal with Fete._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Discuss her friendship with Fete. The crowd loves a good friendship._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Atropa wants Fete to win instead of herself, yet talks a lot about leaving things up to fate. So it's unclear how much she will work towards back-to-back victories for District Eight._

* * *

 _ **ELIOT EIDNER, AGE THIRTEEN, DISTRICT NINE**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 1_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 1_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 4_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 2_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 1_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 1_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 3_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Eliot is in an alliance with Davy Emmerich [5] and Jessamine Briggs [11]. It's clear he looks up to Davy and also really likes Jessamine_

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Eliot is a bit of a troublemaker but a charmer, so have fun with him. Just keep him on track with his questions._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Eliot lacks a lot of skills compared to the other tributes, but last year has proven that thirteen year olds without many skills can still win._

* * *

 _ **SKY ODUM, AGE THIRTEEN, DISTRICT NINE**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 3_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 4_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 2_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 2_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 3_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 3_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 7_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Sky is in no alliances. She has a very tense relationship with the careers, especially Anastacia._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Sky is an angry girl and I don't think there's anything you can really do to stop that. Hopefully she doesn't yell at you for what happened to Marek._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Sky has quite the grudge against the careers and seems likely to act on this in the arena. We'll have to wait and see who will win in that fight._

* * *

 _ **FOX DURHAM, AGE EIGHTEEN, DISTRICT TEN**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 1_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 2_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 2_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 4_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 3_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 1_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 4_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Fox is in an alliance with Adam Vignola [7]. He has grown very attached to Adam._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Talk about his family! He has one son and another kid on the way. The crowd will love a good family story._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Fox has the biggest reason to fight, yet he has refused to use weapons and has grown very attached to Adam. Unless he changes, his odds of winning are not very high._

* * *

 _ **GENESIS BARRETT, AGE SEVENTEEN, DISTRICT TEN**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 2_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 4_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 2_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 4_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 3_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 2_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 6_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Genesis is in an alliance with Elias Pilkvist [6]. She seems very uncomfortable talking to others her age but she isn't with Elias._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Her family situation is…complex, to put it simply, so tread carefully there._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Genesis demonstrated surprising skills with an axe during her private sessions. Between her skills and Elias, this alliance might just be quite the threat._

* * *

 _ **ARTHUR BRAMBLE, AGE SEVENTEEN, DISTRICT ELEVEN**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 1_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 2_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 3_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 4_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 3_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 3_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 6_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Arthur is in an alliance with Calvin Tailor [3]. This alliance is purely to balance out their weaknesses. But Arthur also seems to have a good relationship with Jessamine Briggs [11]._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: Ask him all about what he does in District Eleven. It gives the crowd a chance to get to know him while also showing of the skills he has._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Arthur has fantastic survival skills, yet his hesitation to learn to fight may be his downfall._

* * *

 _ **JESSAMINE BRIGGS, AGE FOURTEEN, DISTRICT ELEVEN**_

 _SIGHT TRIAL: 1_

 _HEARING TRIAL: 4_

 _TOUCH TRIAL: 2_

 _TASTE TRIAL: 2_

 _SMELL TRIAL: 1_

 _SERAPHIM'S SCORE: 1_

 _ASSIGNED SCORE: 4_

 _ALLIES/SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: Jessamine is in an alliance with Davy Emmerich [5] and Eliot Eidner [9]. It seems like she considers both of them her friends, especially Davy._

 _INTERVIEW SUGGESTIONS: A translator will be provided for the interview. Talk directly to Jessamine. Ask her about her family and her passions – the crowd is going to love her._

 _ADDITIONAL NOTES: Jessamine is at an advantage in these Games due to being deaf since birth. However, she must learn to face reality and not see the good in everyone if she hopes to survive._

* * *

 *****SUBMITTER CHECK IN*** Hi everyone, I have realized that this story is actually starting to get close to the Games (only six chapters left :0). That being said, I'd like to know when the submitters have reached this point. So after reading this, please send me a PM with...a haiku about your tribute(s) XD It can be anything, I just love a good haiku.**

 **Alrighty, so there we have the private sessions! What do you think about Seraphim's five sense trials? Are there any scores that surprise you? Seraphim did adjust a few of them for various reasons, but most of them were just rounded according to the weighted score! If you're curious about what a specific tribute did in their trials, just ask me. I would have liked to list it here, but that would have made this chapter way too long and no one would have read all of it lol.**

 **Next up are the interviews! Which, I need some help coming up with questions. If you would like to help ask any question to any tribute, send me a message! I am giving 5 sponsor points per question (but limited to 10 questions, can't let you get too many points lol). I figured this way it helps me write what the readers want to know and also saves me the struggle of coming up with three questions per tribute. But I do want to get started on this soon, so I'm putting a limit of one week to get any questions in for me. And please try not to make them super lengthy - three minutes is not very much time for these interviews!**

 **Okay I will see you hopefully soon with part one of the interviews! We'll have two chapters of those and then three chapters of fun stuff at the party, and one final night before chapter! We're getting very close so get hyped!**


	25. Interviews Part 1

**Chapter 21:**

 _Courtney Cassini, 16, District Six_

Courtney is ready for the interviews. But then again, she's been ready for everything so far in the Capitol. She knows there should be some worry about the Games – and there is – but she can't focus on it. She knows her odds, having done a calculation of them, and there is a chance that these could be her last few days left alive. She wants to take full advantage of them and enjoy every moment. And she would say tonight is a fun way to spend what could be her final days. Getting all dressed up – although she's so glad that she convinced her stylist the other day during the chariots that she should have pants – and showing the Capitol what she can do. She's excited to be out in front of the crowd and tell them about the things she loves.

A few other people have arrived before Courtney, including one of her allies. Courtney heads over to Amelia, grinning at her ally before doing a double take at the District Two tributes and how there are two people wearing dresses there.

"Miss Venus Nahara," the girl standing with Bellona says at Courtney's stares. "And you'll understand soon why I am here instead of my boy Odyssey Gunderson."

Bellona rolls her eyes at her, but she still grins at her District partner as she looks at Anastacia and Major. "See what I mean about the actual queen?"

Courtney shrugs and turns back to Amelia, finding her ally not sure how to respond to Venus either. "Odyssey is a drag queen, who would have known?" Amelia shrugs at her before fidgeting with part of her jumpsuit.

Courtney smiles at her and points between them. "Hey look, unintentional matching!"

"Yeah," Amelia says, smiling a bit before sighing nervously as she looks over at the door that will lead them out onto the stage. "I'm…nervous about what she might ask me."

"Kora?" Courtney asks and Amelia turns back to her, nodding her head and biting her lip anxiously.

Amelia sighs as she looks over at some of the other tributes arriving. "I hate talking about my feelings."

"It will be fine!" Courtney tells her, but from the look she gives her, she can tell Amelia doesn't believe that. "Seriously! You just have to stay focused on the positives. Carpe diem! So just go out there and be honest about things!"

Amelia starts to scowl a little bit about this, but before Courtney can try to say something optimistic or Amelia can counter this, an announcement is made to the tributes. "Attention tributes. Please get in line in your designated spots. The interviews will be starting in five minutes."

"Good luck," Courtney tells Amelia, smiling at her ally.

"You too," Amelia says quietly before looking at the careers around her nervously.

Courtney starts walking back to the spot nearly the wall with District Six labeled on it. She passes Eva on her way over, stopping to wave at her and say hi. "Hi Eva! Good luck!"

"I don't need luck" Eva says with a huff, her attitude something that Courtney has just come to know is her typical self. "I need coffee."

"Well maybe you can ask for some while we wait," Courtney suggests, just getting a shrug from Eva as she turns back to facing Demarcus' back, telling her she's done talking. Courtney shrugs at her before taking a few steps to stand between Davy and Elias. She doesn't let herself get bothered by Eva, knowing Eva doesn't want to get close to her or Amelia. After all, what's the point in letting that bother her? She can't change Eva.

The tributes all slowly start to quiet as the crowds muffled cheers become louder, and the screens positioned backstage for them to watch show Kora walking out onto the stage, grinning and waving at the crowd. "Hello everybody! It is time for us to hear from our twenty-two tributes for the Sixth Quarter Quell!" She pauses to let the crowd cheer in excitement, and Courtney finds herself also excited. She rubs her hands together, fidgeting a little from having to stand still and wait. "Each tribute will get their time to shine, so let's get started! Up first is District One's Anastacia Astoria!"

Anastacia walks out onto the stage, cool and collected as she pushes her long black hair, curled and interwoven with stars that light up, over her shoulders and out of her way. She has her shoulders back, looking elegant in the silver dress she wears. The higher neckline on it gives her a reserved and elegant appearance. It loosely cinches at her waist, giving her a defined figure. An asymmetric slit in the front of the dress that goes up to her mid thigh lets her show off her toned legs and a small splash of color in the form of her pink heels. The only jewelry she wears is a pair of earrings that match her ring with a goshenite gem and two padparadscha sapphires tucked on either side. She looks absolutely stunning as she gives an aloof smile at the crowd, hiding the nerves that had been showing moments before.

"Welcome, Anastacia!" Kora says, getting loud cheers from the crowd in their excitement over the interviews starting. Anastacia tries to keep smiling pleasantly at the host, but still comes off a little cool. "Let's kick these things off with hearing about what inspired you to volunteer!"

The smile fades as she faces Kora. "There's too many people out there suffering without anyone reaching out to them. People coming from abusive households that have nowhere to go. Children sick in a District with so many victors, yet no one steps in to help. Hundreds of people just need someone to offer them a hand and help. And I…" She pauses to take a deep breath, "I am going to be that person."

"Wow…" Kora says, stunned into silence. "Was there something that inspired you to have this mission?"

"Yes," Anastacia says quietly as she looks down at the ring on her hand. She takes a deep breath before looking back up at Kora, "My best friend Pad was pushed to suicide by abuse in their home and the other trainees. We were only thirteen and I couldn't do much to help them…but I could now. And I will as victor."

"It certainly won't be an easy task becoming victor, especially with the Quell twist," Kora tells her and Anastacia gives her a cool look. "And not to bring up the elephant in the room, but you did get the lowest score out of the careers-"

"A 9 can still punch any of them into next week," Anastacia cuts Kora off, getting cheers from the crowd at her sass.

"Indeed," Kora says before the buzzer goes off. "Well we're looking forward to you punching everyone into next week. Anastacia Astoria, everyone!"

The crowd applauds loudly for her until Kora quiets them down to bring out the next tribute. "Now let's hear from Anastacia's District partner, Major Emerson-Ness!"

Major struts out onto the stage, waving cheerfully at the crowd and grinning at them. He does not look like he earned one of the highest training scores, looking too cutesy to be a lethal killing machine, but his score says otherwise. His pale blond hair has been perfectly styled to the side and two light pink bows have been placed in it. He wears a suit, but quite a different one from the rest of the boys. He wears a pastel blue suit with a white frilly blouse under a cropped jacket, lined with white accents on the pockets, and a matching a-line skirt with a ruffled edge. Courtney even thinks he might have some makeup on. He stops to blow the crowd a few over the top kisses before turning to take his seat with Kora, making sure to swing his hips as he walks over to his seat. He turns around and winks at the crowd over his shoulder, making them all go nuts.

"Okay Major," Kora starts out the interview, but Major responds before she can ask anything.

"Okay Kora," Major says, still doing his best to look cute for the crowd.

Kora grins at him before turning so her attention is fully on him and she props her chin on her hand. "We've all been curious since we have seen your appearance during the reapings, chariots, and now, yet you earned an impressive _eleven_. How exactly did you get that score?"

Major laughs loudly at this and wink at the crowd. "You'll just have to wait and see!"

"Oh that's not fair!" Kora teases him, only make Major laugh even more at her reaction. "You're lucky we don't have to wait much longer to see, but just know we're all very impatiently waiting."

"So am I!" Major answers, getting the crowd to laugh with him. "I can't wait to get to the Games and show you what I can do!"

"Now I've heard that there's a bit of a history in your family with the Games," Kora starts, and Major slowly nods his head at this. "One that is connected with your very own mentor, Emilio Signe! Care to tell us about that?"

Major grows serious as he talks about his family. "My parents were two of many that tried to volunteer for the 121st Hunger Games. They both came in second to volunteering and through that, they met, decided to have me, and now well, here I am and ready to carry on their legacy."

The crowd cheers at this and Kora says, "We love a family legacy!"

"I won't let them down, I assure you," Major says coolly, finally showing a hint of the person that could have earned one of the highest scores. "Everything they have done has prepared me to win these Games. _That's_ how I earned an eleven."

"And we love that!" Kora says at the buzzer before pretending to be upset at it. "Well damn, we must end here. Major Emerson-Ness!"

Major is immediately back to the cute and cheerful behavior as he jumps up from his seat and waves at the cheering crowd as he moves to take his spot next to Anastacia, who rolls her eyes at his behavior.

"We're heading to District Two next with Bellona Silvanus!"

Bellona walks out onto the stage with the confidence one would expect from the careers. Her dark brown hair has been braided into a crown, interwoven with golden feathers that match the pattern on her dress. She shines in the lights, the golden feathers spread strategically throughout the shear black mesh appearing to be made out of real gold – which, it might be, considering it's the Capitol – and a black velvet belt cinches her waist. Her look is completed with small accents of burgundy in her lipstick and heels. Bellona waves at the crowd, looking absolutely relaxed in front of them.

"Welcome, Bellona!" Kora says as Bellona greets her with a friendly smile. "Now in the past, we have seen some big rivalries between the pair from your District."

"Like Decima and Coeus?" Bellona asks and Kora nods her head in agreement. "Well just look at those two. They were ticking time bombs of anger!"

The crowd laughs at this and Kora nods, "True, we did see that happen. But based on the reaping, it doesn't seem like that will be the case, but tell us, Bellona, will we see a united District Two this year?"

"Absolutely," Bellona answers immediately with as much confidence as she can muster. "Unlike in the past, we've been working together for months to ensure that District Two will have another Quell victor."

"Aiming to be just like your mentor, huh?" Kora asks and Bellona nods her head. "But this Quell twist is a bit more challenging than Glacia's was, wouldn't you agree? How do you think that will affect your odds?"

"Kat has made sure we're as prepared as possible," Bellona tells Kora and gets a few cheers from the crowd at the mention of the victor. "And based on certain things that I don't think we're allowed to talk about because of Head Gamemaker Seraphim, I think my chances of winning are very high."

"Now if you do win, what do you have waiting for you back home?" Kora asks the girl. "Family? Friends? Any romantic interest?"

"Just family and friends," Bellona shakes her head, but her cheeks get the faintest hint of a blush. "No romantic interest to return to. There's no time for that when you're working on becoming the Quell victor!"

Bellona looks relieved when the buzzer goes off and Kora can't keep asking her about people back home. The crowd cheers loudly for her as Kora sends her off, "Bellona Silvanus!"

"For our next interview, we have a special guest," Kora tells the crowd, getting looks of confusion. "We have known him as Odyssey Gunderson, but tonight she is Venus Nahara!"

The next person to walk out on the stage completely outshines Major's charisma and dramatic act. Venus Nahara looks more stunning than Courtney does. Her blonde hair is curled and pinned into an elegant updo, keeping her face open to show off the delicate makeup that has been applied. She wears a stunning velvet blue gown, with her left shoulder having a giant diamond and sapphire covered design on it – matching the piece on her right hip – and her right shoulder having a long draping cape. A long slit goes up the right side of the floor length gown, a risky design choice that Venus has no problem with. She walks out in silver heels at a slow, confident pace, waving at the crowd and stopping at the front of the stage to strike a pose, hands on her hips as she faces them. When they all cheer for her, she laughs loudly and waves at them to quiet down. "Stop, stop, you're all too kind!"

"Welcome, welcome," Kora tells Venus as she sits down, taking Kora's hand and kissing the back of it, making the host laugh.

"Yes, queen, you look stunning tonight," Venus tells her right away.

"Well I could say the same thing to you!" Kora answers and Venus laughs pleasantly. "Now how about you introduce yourself to the crowd and tell us a little bit about how you got started?"

"Well I am Miss Venus Nahara," Venus starts to tell Kora. "And if you couldn't tell, I am a drag queen! I've been doing this for a few years now, with the help of Misha back home, but it's my dream to be here in the Capitol doing this for a living!"

"Misha?" Kora asks curiously and Venus nods her head as she flushes a little. "Like the victor Misha Harington? How did that happen?"

"Well you know how active Mr. Harington has been in the pride community in Two," Venus tells her and the crowd cheers at this statement. "He has been so gracious to host drag nights and that's how I've been able to perform in Two! But it is absolutely nothing compared to being up on the stage for all you lovely queens here in the Capitol!"

"Well we sure hope to see you performing here again!" Kora tells Venus and she puts a hand over her chest as she smiles gratefully at the host. "But first you must win the Games – well, Odyssey must."

Venus laughs pleasantly at this. "You won't catch this queen fighting but don't worry, my boy Odyssey is going to win. We both came here to slay!"

"We're looking forward to it!" Kora says, just before the buzzer. "Miss Venus Nahara, everyone!" Venus blows kisses at the crowd as she heads off to her seat, giving dramatic air kisses on the cheeks to her allies. Anastacia looks a little amused by it, while Major gives a forced smile. Bellona laughs loudly at Venus kissing her on the cheek, shaking her head in amusement as Venus sits next to her.

"Alright everyone," Kora says to the crowd, her tone growing more somber as the crowd gets restless. "We are moving to District Three. First up is Amelia Fensa!"

"Go Amelia!" Courtney cheers on her ally as she starts to walk out on the stage and Courtney can see her smile growing a little more confident as she walks out in front of the crowd. Her brown hair has been kept down, curled and flowing down across her shoulders. Makeup has been applied to cover the bags under her eyes, as well as give her a dramatic smoky eye. She wears a strapless black jumpsuit, the bodice lined with lace that drapes down from her hips, forming a mini cape behind her. A silver metal belt is tight around her waist and Amelia adjusts it as she sits down before slowly giving the crowd nervous smile, making them even more receptive to her and her confidence starts to grow even more.

"Hello, Amelia," Kora says to her gently. Amelia does her best to smile back at the host. "How have you been doing in the past year?"

Amelia opens her mouth to speak before letting out a sigh. "Do you want the fake answer or the honest one?"

"Honest answer," Kora says and reaches out, putting her hand on top of Amelia's hand.

Amelia takes a second to respond, "I've been better…there are days when the pain is so fresh and it's hard to even get out of bed and other days when it's numb, but tolerable. Things have gotten better since getting to Three."

"And how has the university program been? And what inspired you to apply?" Kora asks, still being gentle with Amelia, making her slowly become more relaxed.

"Well it's not a walk in the park," Amelia scoffs, turning surprised when the crowd laughs at her joke. She slowly starts smiling as she continues, "As for why I applied…I made a promise to Clark that I would apply at his victor tour. It's all thanks to him that I got myself back on track so…" Amelia looks out at the crowd, finding the mentors and searching until she finds the youngest one there. "Thank you, Clark."

The cameras find the victor in the crowd and he forces himself to smile at Amelia, but his face is full of pain as he stares up at her on the stage. Astrid puts a comforting arm around him and he toughens his face as he gently brushes her away, only making her laugh.

The attention quickly returns back to Amelia and Kora. "Well we are glad that you have picked yourself back up after what happened last year."

Amelia's face hardens at the reference to the previous year and she clenches her fists and blinks her eyes a few times, holding in tears. "I'm going to win for him."

The buzzer sounds and Amelia is met with loud applause – applause matching that given to the careers – and surprise is on her face as she stands up. "Amelia Fensa!"

She keeps her head held high as she walks to her seat, doing her best not to be intimidated by the careers she passes. Meanwhile, Kora gets ready to bring out the next guest. "It's time for Amelia's District partner, Calvin Tailor!"

Calvin walks out onto the stage, keeping his emotions locked down as he faces the crowd. He walks with his shoulders back as he keeps a brave look on his face. His stylist has put him in a relatively tame outfit by Capitol standards, just a classic black tuxedo, complete with a bowtie, but it makes him look sharp. He takes his seat next to Kora, giving her a greeting in the form of a head nod. He unbuttons his suit jacket to make himself more comfortable before shaking the hosts hand.

"Now Calvin, this isn't the first time you've been interviewed by the Capitol, just by my mother instead of me," Kora says to him. Calvin's jaw tightens at this, but he nods his head. "How have things changed in those six years?"

"Everything has changed since we lost Bishop," Calvin tells her, doing his best to keep his face clear of emotions. "My parents couldn't handle it, claiming they weren't 'strong enough' to keep raising their two remaining sons. They _left_ us, their sons." Calvin shakes his head at the thought of his parents, clenching his fists on his lap. "After that, I swore I was always going to do my best to be strong enough for Indy. He lost his parents, but he wasn't going to lose his older brother. And he still isn't going to lose his brother, you hear that Indy?"

"Yes, it can be tough losing a brother, as we have just seen," Kora tells him. "Do you feel prepared for these Games?"

"As prepared as I can possibly be," Calvin responds to her. "I know I have the brain to outsmart others and physical strength. Only thing I don't have is survival skills, but my ally makes up for that."

"And who is your ally?" Kora asks him, sounding curious even though she must know the answer.

"Arthur, from Eleven," Calvin answers. "No need to hide that information. He has skills that just simply aren't available to me coming from two industrial Districts. It's a good balance in the alliance."

"Well I'm looking forward to seeing how you two do together!" Kora says at the buzzer. "Thank you, Calvin Tailor!"

Calvin takes his spot next to Amelia, not giving much acknowledgement to her. "Now let's get ready for some fire as we head to District Four. First up is the other career that earned an eleven, Delta Zale!"

Delta storms out onto the stage, the red cape of her dress billowing behind her as the loud sound of her strappy silver heels slamming onto the floor are drowned out by the sound of the crowd. Her red dress is a statement piece, from its shorter asymmetric hemline across her thighs, to the deep v-neckline. But the most dramatic part is definitely the giant fluff on each shoulder attached the long, sheer red cape. Her red hair is straightened and slicked back, showing off the silver eyeshadow and simple nude lip she wears. Unlike Major, she has the attitude of one of the highest score earning tributes. The crowd doesn't even seem to mind that she doesn't smile or wave at them, just taking her seat next to Kora and contemplating for a few seconds how to cross her legs to not flash everyone with her short skirt.

"Alright, Delta," Kora starts, only looking slightly bothered by how fiery Delta is. "You're the youngest in the career alliance this year. Would you say your age puts you at a disadvantage?"

"I don't know, Kora, what does my score say?" Delta asks her and the crowd laughs, but she clearly wasn't joking. "I had the fastest increase in placement at the training center in Four. So I really don't think my age is going to matter. It won't stop me from winning."

"I think it would be hard to stop you, once you get your mind set on something," Kora tells her and Delta nods her head. "So what is your motivation for winning?"

"I'm winning for the Capitol," Delta answers, getting loud cheers of excitement from the crowd at this.

"An excellent reason to win," Kora agrees. "But what about family back home?"

"My father died over a year ago," Delta tells her, a scowl forming on her face. "And I don't care about my mother."

"Why not?" Kora asks curiously, getting a glare from Delta in return that she simply ignores.

"I have my reasons," Delta angrily answers. "She means nothing to me and I don't care about ever seeing her again when I win. She deserves it for what she did to my father when-"

The buzzer cuts Delta off and she scowls at this, but the crowd still cheers for her. "Delta Zale!" She storms off to her seat, and Kora keeps a pleasant smile on her face as she keeps moving on. "And the last of the careers, Demarcus Pollock!"

Demarcus is visibly nervous as he walks out onto the stage, met with cheers from the crowd. He pulls on his vibrant yellow suit and glances down at it as he walks out, clearly not looking too thrilled about it. But Courtney doesn't see why as the color looks nice against his darker skin. He does his best to smile out at the crowd and wave at them, and they respond well to him since he is one of their precious careers, but it's clear he's uncomfortable with all of their attention trained solely on him. He takes a deep breath as he approaches Kora, subtly wiping his hands on his pants before shaking the host's hand and taking his seat.

"Hello, Demarcus, how are you doing?" Kora asks him gently, easing him into the interview.

"A little nervous," Demarcus answers honestly as he glances between the crowd and Kora, again wiping his hands on his pants. "I-I don't do to well with big crowds."

"It's okay to be nervous," Kora tells him, putting a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "I'll let you in on a secret. Even I still get nervous before going out on stage."

"Really?"

"Yes, really," Kora nods her head and smiles at him. "So that's okay if you're nervous. We'll start easy. How about you tell us three qualities of yours that you like the best?"

This question just seems to make Demarcus grow even more nervous and he looks down as he starts fidgeting with his hands. "I don't-" Demarcus starts shaking his head as he looks up at Kora, "I don't know – I'm sorry."

"That's okay," Kora says, patting his shoulder as he takes deep breaths to try and calm himself. "How about we talk about District Four? If you could bring one change to District Four, what would it be?"

Demarcus nods his head and picks up his head to look at Kora, clearly more comfortable with this question. "Four is great…but I would want to make mental health care more accessible to everyone… There are a lot of people that can't afford it when they need it so they can help their families." Demarcus nods his head a few times, finally starting to look more comfortable sitting on the stage with Kora. "That's what I would change."

"A noble thing to want to change, and I believe you can do it," Kora tells him, getting a small smile from him. "Would that be what you do as a victor?"

"Yes, for sure," Demarcus answers just before the buzzer. He lets out a sigh of relief as the crowd applauds him, but winces a little as he stands up.

"Let's give a big round of applause to Demarcus Pollock!" Kora says and the cheers grow for Demarcus as he heads to his seat, keeping his head down to avoid looking at his allies. "Next up is District Five, starting with Eva Orville Wright!"

Courtney also cheers on Eva has her other ally walks out for her interview, looking bored at this whole ordeal. But Courtney thinks she looks great, wearing a dress that Courtney wouldn't have felt comfortable in. The majority of the dress is white lace she can see through, from the high neckline, long sleeves, down to the floor. The bodice is covered with some white frills and a few silver and diamond broaches. If it wasn't for the skin tone bodysuit Eva wears underneath, she would be completely exposed. Topping off the look, her curly hair has been kept natural, the left side of it pulled back with a few small braids to show off more of her face. She has been given a simple makeup look, her stylist clearly choosing to let the dress be the statement piece in this look.

"Hello, Eva," Kora says as Eva tries to smile, but looks more like she wants to go to sleep than sit on this stage. "So, you didn't do too bad in training, earning a five. What do you think about your odds?"

"Not the best, but certainly not the worst," Eva gives a shrug at Kora as she leans back in her chair. "I'm not going to win any fights against careers, but I certainly have higher odds than some of the tributes here."

"But you're not working alone, are you?" Kora asks and Eva nods her head. "How did that alliance form?"

"Well I formed it," Eva answers. "I knew I wanted Amelia because she is smart and will get sponsors right away, something I probably won't get on my own."

"You don't know that for sure!"

Eva gives Kora a look that says she knows it's not true, before continuing, "And Courtney kind of just joined too. She's smart, so I suppose there's worst allies to have.

"Now there's something else tying the three of you together," Kora mentions and Eva lazily raises an eyebrow at her. "All three of you have interests in engineering – and you are a recent university scholarship recipient! Why did you choose to study mechanical and aerospace engineering?"

"Well why did you want to be a host?" Eva asks in return, but continues before Kora can answer. "I think planes are fascinating to study and I love tinkering. Simple as that. But I can assure you that I can do great things in my future, so you should consider sponsoring me."

The buzzer goes off before Kora can ask another question, and Eva gets mild applause from the crowd. "Eva Orville-Wright!" Kora says as the girl heads to her seat before announcing the last tribute up before it's Courtney's turn. "Now it is time for Eva's District partner, Davy Emmerich!"

While Demarcus had appeared nervous, Davy is a whole other level of nervous as he steps out onto the stage. He fidgets with the sleeves of his blue suit coupled with brown dress shoes, trying his best to smile out at the crowd, but it's a little closer to a grimace. His already curly blond hair has been curled even more, styled out of his face. Davy looks out at the crowd, seemingly searching for someone, and once he finds them, his smile grows a little more natural. He's still very nervous, but a little less so as he takes his seat with Kora, making sure to give her a handshake.

"Hello Davy," Kora says gently to the boy.

"Hello Miss Flickerman," Davy answers politely, only making Kora's smile grow.

"Just Kora, please," Kora tells him, chuckling a little. "Miss Flickerman makes me feel old! But how are you doing tonight?"

"Nervous," Davy tells her before looking out at the crowd and growing more petrified. "But I-I don't think I'm going to pass out."

"Well if you do, at least you're already sitting!" Kora tries to joke to get him to relax and he does turn his attention back to her, but his nerves are still clearly all over his face. "No need for Letha to jump in this time. What do you think about your mentor?"

"Mrs. Calder is wonderful," Davy answers, smiling a little bit as he thinks about her, and making the crowd 'aww' at him calling her that. "She…I always knew how kind she was and I'm really lucky she's my mentor."

"I think many of us would choose Letha as our mentor if we had to choose any victor!" Kora says, making Davy's smile grow just the tiniest bit. "So what do you like to do for fun in District Five?"

"I…" Davy nervously looks at the cameras before out at the crowd, looking out at the mentors. He stares over at Letha for a few seconds before turning back to Kora, seemingly debating how he wants to answer. "I…recently started a club at my school. With…with Letha's son, actually."

"Really?" Kora asks and Davy nervously nods his head. "What's it about?"

"Green energy in Five," Davy says softly, avoiding looking at the cameras.

"That's a good thing to support," Kora tells him and he picks up his head to look at her, finding her giving him a reassuring smile. "Very noble cause. How did you get involved in that?"

"Because…" Davy takes a deep breath and nervously looks out at his mentor once more. "Because of my parents," Davy says in a rush, his face turning bright red in nervousness at saying that out loud.

But before Kora can ask what specifically about his parents, the buzzer goes off, leaving the crowd hanging. "Well you have to win now so we can hear more about this!" Kora tells him, but Davy just looks relieved that his interview is done. "Davy Emmerich!" The crowd applauds him as he heads to his seat and Courtney starts bouncing on her feet, knowing what this means. "And we are reaching the halfway point with District Six! First up is…Courtney Cassini!"

Finally, it's Courtney's turn to head out on the stage, and she is ready for this. Why would she let herself be nervous about it? This could very well be one of her last nights alive, and she is going to live the most out of it. And being a nervous wreck certainly isn't how she wants to spend her life. She's glad that she has been placed in a jumpsuit, one that reminds her a little of her ally. But hers has long sleeves, capped with big poofs at her shoulders, attached to a sequined bodice with a very high neckline. At her waist, a chunky black belt with a gold buckle separates the sequins of the top and the plain black fabric of her pants. She does her best in the gold heels, but she's glad her stylist at least gave her a pair with very small heels. Her hair has been slicked back to stay tucked behind her ears, allowing the crowd to fully see her smile as she walks out onto the stage. For a moment, the sound of the crowd surprises her, but soon it only makes her grow more ready for her interview. These people here are living their best life, so she will too! She waves a little at the crowd as she makes her way over to Kora, before turning her smile towards the host.

"Hi Kora!" Courtney says cheerfully, feeling a bit exhilarated by the noise of the crowd and the knowledge that right now, everyone in Panem is watching her.

"Welcome, Courtney," Kora says in return, smiling pleasantly as she jumps into the questions. "So Courtney, can you tell us about some of your interests?"

"Absolutely!" Courtney answers, grinning at the host as she thinks about the things she loves. "I really love astronomy and that's why I plan to study aerospace engineering!"

Courtney pauses to catch her thoughts, and Kora takes the opportunity to ask her another question. "Would that be what you want to do if you win?"

Courtney nods her head at the host. "Definitely. I was already planning on applying to the District Three summer program next year and eventually university! I was so excited when the news was announced about the universities. Of course, I have to win first for that but I am hopeful about it! Carpe diem, you know? Can't have a pessimistic view about this or I really won't win. And I'm viewing this as a positive opportunity. If I win, well, now I know for sure that I can afford to attend university."

"It's good to have a positive outlook on life!" Kora agrees and Courtney nods her head, smiling at the host understanding her. "Now would you say you're looking forward to the party?"

"Yeah! It should be a fun time," Courtney responds.

"Well, I have heard a little rumor about the party," Kora says and Courtney looks at her curiously. "And that you will enjoy this rumor."

"Now I'm very curious," Courtney answers, laughing a little. "I'm guessing you're going to tell me?"

It's Kora's turn to laugh now. "You guessed correctly. At the party there is going to be a special guest performance by…Beyond The Realm!"

Courtney gasps loudly and grips the arms of her chair tightly. "No way!" She says, mouth hanging open in surprise. Her heart starts racing in excitement as Kora nods her head, confirming this is indeed happening. "Oh my God I get to see my favorite band!" Courtney says in a rush before squealing a little. She takes a few deep breaths, trying to calm herself back down since she knows she's still supposed to be doing an interview, but she can't help but grin at Kora. "That just made my entire night! Wow, okay, I can't wait for this party! I know I'm supposed to live each day like it could be my last, but right now I just want it to be tomorrow already!"

"Soon!" Kora says, laughing at how excited Courtney is as she starts bouncing in her seat, really unable to focus on anything other than knowing she will see BTR perform tomorrow. "What's your favorite thing about them?"

"Oh everything!" Courtney says, unable in that moment to think of a single specific thing. She's going to see them perform. _She might get to meet them!_ "I hope I can hug them! I think I could die peacefully if I did!"

The buzzer sounds and Courtney blinks at it, surprised already that her time is up. It feels like she just started. But sure enough, Kora is motioning for her to stand up and announcing her, "Courtney Cassini!" The crowd applauds her and Courtney smiles out at them – part of it still her excitement about BTR – and waves at them as she heads towards her seat, happy with how the interview went. She had fun answering the questions and wasn't really nervous, so she would say that was a success. Even if it wasn't, she won't stress about it. After all, why stress about something she can't change?

"We are now officially at the halfway point!" Kora tells the crowd, getting some cheers from them. "At this time, we're going to take a short break and then we will be back with Elias Pilkvist!"

* * *

 **Ayy guess who's back! And now we only have five chapters left before the Games officially start :0 So here's the first part of the interviews with a conveniently timed audience break to separate it into two chapters lol XD Any surprises with these interviews? Hopefully I'll have part 2 done soon, but it probably won't be for another week or so because I'm gonna be out of town for a few days for comic con, which I'm super hyped about! I'm also hyped about this story lol, but obviously I'm not gonna have time to write those days XD**

 **By time you've reached this point, I should have the interview outfits up on my random story blog for this half! If I'm not done with it yet, it will be up some time today.**

 **Anyways, in other hype related things, I've officially opened up subs for my next partial, Legacy: The 137th Hunger Games! It will work in a similar structure to Wayward. All the info is up on my profile and I'm going to upload that story before we get to the party with this story! Just gotta have a few Wayward updates first. But I hope you'll all consider submitting!**

 **Alrighty, see you all soon after the next Wayward!**


	26. Interviews Part 2

**Chapter 22:**

 _Atropa Seigal, 17, District Eight_

"Come on, feet boy, just talk to him already."

"Who?" Fete asks as he takes a sip of water, clearly knowing who and avoiding answering her. He lets out a heavy sigh as he avoids looking her way. "Astrid said I shouldn't."

"Does Astrid also tell you how to shower and put on clothes?" Atropa asks him, making him scoff at her. "Come on, Fete… I can tell how much you want to talk to him. Just do it."

Fete stares at her with his typical exhaustion, but also with a mix of fear. "I do but I hate the feeling he gives me because that could have been me," Fete whispers to her, making her immediately reach out and hug him.

"But it wasn't," Atropa reassures him. "Fate had other plans for you. Plans to get you back home to your cats. And also to just talk to Adam already. Hey Adam!" She calls over to the boy from Seven, who looks around in confusion at his name. When he looks over at him, Atropa waves him over and he hesitates for a moment, before heading their way.

Fete grabs her arm, leaning close to whisper to her, "I told you not to."

"Yeah well I think you need to or you're gonna keep thinking about it," Atropa answers before leaning away from Fete as Adam slows in front of them. "Hi Adam, Fete wants to talk to you."

"Hi," Adam says timidly, giving Fete a small nervous smile.

Fete looks at Atropa once more and she gives him an encouraging nod, before he turns back to Adam and sighs. "I just…" He brings up a hand to run through his hair but stops before touching the perfectly styled hair. "Wanted to say that you're braver than I would be…and I have a lot of respect for you as another trans man."

"Oh…" Adam says in surprise, his hands moving to touch his stomach in a way that Atropa has started to realize is subconscious. He starts smiling at Fete, his eyes getting a little misty as he stares up at him. "I…thank you."

"You're welcome," Fete says, giving the smallest of smiles that he can force himself to do.

"Tributes, please return to your spots in line. The interviews are about to resume."

"Well, it's show time boys, let's see what fate has in store for us," Atropa tells the two of them, getting smiles from both of them. She motions them back into the line and follows after them, taking her spot between them.

She glances back at Fete as Kora heads back out onto the stage, still finding him looking worried. "You can't help him," she whispers to him and Fete nods his head at her, even though it pains him. "Focus on us getting home to your cats."

"Right…" Fete says quietly before yawning loudly and leaning against the wall.

Kora greets the crowd as they quiet down. "Welcome back, Panem! It is time to kick off the second half of these interviews! We will be starting off with the second half of District Six with Elias Pilkvist!"

Elias slowly walks out onto the stage, doing his best to walk smoothly in his prostheses. He stares at the crowd with wide eyes, looking like how a baby animal looks when startled. He nervously fumbles with the metallic gray suit jacket he wears that matches the gray of his prostheses, lined with black trim, black buttons, and a black hankerchief in the pocket. Underneath, he wears simple black waistcoat, white button up shirt and black tie. His pants are also a traditional black, but have been cropped at his knees to show off what makes him different from the others. The crowd is cheering for him, but it's clear they are all just trying to figure out how this fumbling boy earned one of the highest scores out of the non-career Districts.

"Not a bad suit," Fete mumbles behind her as Elias takes his seat.

"Welcome, Elias," Kora says to Elias, making him stare at her long with wide eyes. "So you've earned quite the impressive score. An eight!" The crowd cheers at this and Elias starts to look overwhelmed by the noise. "Just how does an outer District tribute with two leg prostheses like you earn that high of a score?"

Elias doesn't answer for a few long seconds before he visibly starts shaking in his seat and making Kora give him a concerned look. "I…" Elias starts, searching around the crowd in close to a panic before turning back to Kora as tears well in his eyes. "I have been fighting since I was a kid. They made me."

"You've been…forced to fight?" Kora asks, voice full of concern as she looks around with wide eyes at the silent crowd and up to where the Head Gamemaker sits. But when she turns back to Elias, there's anger in her eyes. "Who forced you?"

Elias nods his head as he starts sobbing in his chair. "I-I am not supposed to tell…but I do not want to lie to you. Bu-but I…" Elias chokes out a sob, holding onto his chest as the host puts a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "N-no mo-more…protecting them. The-ey hurt me, made me lose my-"

"Who hurt you?" Kora says coldly when Elias stops to become a blubbering mess.

Elias shakes his head, looking like he wants to refuse her question. He opens and closes his mouth a few times before finally saying who. "My parents."

The crowd is in stunned silence as Kora shakes her head at this and Atropa just rolls her eyes. They cheer on fighting in the arena but as soon as it's outside of the arena, they pity the poor kid? Hypocrites.

Kora tries to get him talking again but he's sobbing too much as the buzzer sounds and the crowd doesn't seem to know how to react to him. It takes a few seconds for the crowd to applaud him and he stumbles over to his spot, wiping away his eyes and trying not to trip over the other tributes' feet as he passes them. "Well, that was Elias Pilkvist," Kora says to the crowd, her hands on her hips and looking like she doesn't quite know what to do, before deciding to keep going on with the interviews. "Next is District Seven, with Carameuse Juniper."

Carameuse just looks…off…as she walks out onto the stage, fumbling with the long skirt on her dress. The dark green velvet dress gives the thin girl an illusion of a figure, cinching at her wait with a gold beaded belt. The skirt itself flows around her with gold and green beaded patterns of some bunch of flowers hanging from it, hanging down from her waist. Her dark brown hair has been curled and flows down her back, with a single braid forming a crown on her head. The crowd is a mix of silence and cheers, some not knowing how this girl has earned a twelve and others just being excited to see that very rare score. Carameuse tries to smile at them as she takes her seat, but it comes off as more of a grimace.

"I wouldn't have chosen green," Fete says with a 'hmph' and Atropa doesn't need to look back to know he is crossing his arms at the stylist's choice. "If she was blonde, maybe."

Kora gives a forced smile at Carameuse as she sits down, also giving an equally forced smile at the girl. "So, Carameuse, what food in the Capitol do you find the weirdest so far?"

Carameuse looks confused at this and looks around at the crowd and the cameras on her. She nervously picks at her dress as she answers the host. "Well…I guess the…caviar? It was salty and had a weird texture."

"And what about your favorite meal here in the Capitol?" Kora asks as soon as Carameuse is done talking, not giving her time to say anything else.

Carameuse just keeps smiling pleasantly at Kora, but she still looks around at the crowd and cameras. "Um… The spaghetti and meatballs is really good."

"Very good choice, unless you're wearing white," Kora remarks, making the crowd laugh at her. "What's your favorite time of the year?"

"Oh, um…" Carameuse thinks for a few seconds before looking at the cameras once more. "I really like spring time in the morning when you see the frost on the plains. I-it makes the world look pretty."

"I see," Kora says before jumping into another seemingly meaningless question, letting Carameuse give a short answer before jumping into the next for the remainder of the interview. This goes on until the buzzer sounds and Kora visibly is relieved by it. "Carameuse Juniper," she says quickly as the crowd gives mild applause to her as she heads to her seat.

"We need to stay far away from her," Atropa whispers to Fete as the interview ends, turning back to see him nod at her. She knew from the score but with the way Kora acted…Carameuse has clearly done _something_ to anger the Capitol, and Atropa is not getting herself and Fete caught in the crossfire.

"Next is Carameuse's District partner," Kora says, hesitating to bring out the next tribute. "Adam Vignola."

Atropa glances back at Fete to see his reaction to Adam walking out on the stage, but he keeps his face blank as he stares up at the screens. But she knows him well enough to see the pain in his eyes, so she reaches out and grabs his hand as they watch the very pregnant Adam walk out onto the stage. He keeps one hand protectively on his stomach as he tries to smile at the crowd, but he's clearly fearful over what is going to happen soon with the Games. The crowd is a mixed bag as they react to Adam, which is expected. It's not very often that there's a pregnant tribute in the Games, let alone someone _this_ pregnant.

"I'm glad they gave him a good outfit," Fete mumbles next to her and Atropa nods her head in agreement. It must have taken a lot of work, but they did it. They altered the dark gray suit he wears so the pants and white button up shirt fit around the large baby bump. The jacket doesn't look like it will button up, but that might have been a choice from the stylist to keep the baby fully visible. Not that it's hard to miss someone eight months pregnant.

"Hello, Adam, how are you doing?" Kora asks him gently as he squirms in his seat, trying to get comfortable.

"I…I'm doing alright…" Adam says with a heavy sigh as he rubs his belly. "As alright as anyone could be in my situation," he says and looks down at his stomach, tears welling in his eyes before he looks back up at the host. "I just want to keep him safe."

"Him?" Kora asks and Adam nods his head, looking proud of his baby. "Do you know it's a boy for sure?"

"No," Adam answers as he shakes his head. "I just feel it. But who knows, he might grow up and be trans like me. Either way, I'm going to love this baby with all my heart."

Kora smiles at him, but her smile is strained. "Do you have a name picked out for the baby then?"

"I do," Adam smiles as he nods at Kora. "Baby Cain."

"But what will you do if it's a girl?" Kora jokingly asks him and he chuckles as he shrugs his shoulders. "Do you have a different name picked out?"

"Not really, so I guess I'm just going to keep hoping I'm right," Adam responds before his eyes start watering once more. "Assuming I get to see them someday…"

The crowd is silent at that, no one wanting to acknowledge the repercussions of Adam going into the arena right now. Luckily, the buzzer goes off before anyone can start reacting poorly to Adam and his nearly full term pregnancy. "Adam Vignola, everyone." The crowd applauds him as he slowly walks to his seat, holding his stomach protectively as he walks past the careers.

Atropa turns back to Fete, knowing it's her time. "Alright, remember Fete, we're trying to make these people like us," Atropa says as she gives him a pat on the shoulder as Kora announces her name. "And no talking shit about my outfit."

Fete scoffs at this and mumbles something under his breath that Atropa doesn't catch as she walks out onto the stage, adjusting her vibrant blue pantsuit as she goes out. She's excited to be in something different from all the other girls and not a frilly gown. But couldn't the stylist have given her a shirt to wear under this jacket? She had almost begged Fete to give her his shirt, but knew he would never take off part of an outfit he had a say in, not even for his best friend. But Atropa puts her best refined smile on, never letting the Capitol know as she waves to the crowd that she's even remotely unhappy about any part of her outfit. After all, they're going to see the fakest part of her so she can get sponsors for her and Fete.

"Alright, Atropa, let's get started," Kora tells her.

Atropa smiles back at the host, a totally fake smile as she's ready to win them over so they sponsor her and Fete. "Of course."

"So you're obviously from District Eight, which has had the fortune of having our most recent victor," Kora starts, pausing to let the crowd cheer in excitement over Clark. "But if you had the freedom to travel to any other District, where would you want to go and why?"

"Well, I'd pick the Capitol first, of course," Atropa says pleasantly, not below flattery to make sure the Gamemakers like her. "After that, I would pick District Three for their university. I think the new programs are fantastic and I would love the chance to study philosophy and fate."

"Well you never know," Kora tells her, "If you win, you can apply for the summer program and study there. Or you could go to university in Eight."

"I could attend classes with Clark," Atropa says, giving a fake laugh at this as she knows the crowd will love hearing about their precious victor. "Well, I feel positive about fate working in my advantage."

"You've mentioned fate a couple times now," Kora points out to her.

"I have," Atropa says, nodding her head and continuing to smile pleasantly at the host. "I've been interested in the concept of fate for many years now. How much do we have a say in things and how much is just up to fate? We can never know and it fascinates me."

"Well I think you can have quite a say towards winning the Games," Kora teases and Atropa forces herself to laugh with the host. "So who are you trying to win for?"

"Well, my family, of course," Atropa tells the host. "I have two younger sisters that I absolutely love. Twins," Atropa smiles at this, even if it's not completely true. She loves them, but not enough to win for them. "After that, well, I'm winning for Fete. He's my best friend and I'll make sure that one of us is the victor this year. Someone needs to get back home to take care of his cats, after all," Atropa jokes, making the crowd laugh with her a bit.

"Fete did threaten District Eight to care for them," Kora adds, laughing a bit at this.

"He wasn't kidding," Atropa says, hoping it will not only make sure the cats are cared for in their absence, but also maybe intimidate the other tributes a bit.

Before Kora can ask her anything else, the buzzer goes off and the crowd applauds her. "Atropa Seigal, everyone!" Kora says and Atropa smiles pleasantly at the crowd as she moves towards her seat, happy with how her interview went. Even if she wasn't, there is no reason for her to stress about it.

It's up to fate now.

"Now how about we hear from Atropa's friend and District partner, Fete Bayard!"

Atropa cheers for Fete from her spot on the stage, not giving two damns if anyone around her gives her looks for it. Fete looks so clearly fake as he walks onto the stage, his customer service grin on his face and just looking overall very positive and happy to be there. Atropa leans back in her chair, knowing Fete will do just fine at this interview. She feels proud of her friend as he heads in front of the Capitol in an outfit he had a hand in designing. This is what he loves. He just looks so…neat and not himself, with his hair actually styled perfectly swept to his right, and his all black ensemble. Black dress shirt tucked into black pants; black oxfords; black jacket buttoned in the middle and cut with a diagonal coattail, starting at his right hip at normal height and dropping to his left knee. And topped with a black belt with a gold buckle and chain leading to his pocket. Compared to the previous outfits, he stands out from the simplicity of the colors and lack of overcomplicated designs.

 _That's her feet boy._

"Hello, Kora," Fete says cheerfully as he takes his seat, his fakest smile on as he shakes the host's hand. Atropa shakes her head a little at him, but she's proud of him. He needs to be fake to win them over. "Lovely outfit, but I think I could have designed something better."

The crowd laughs at this along with Kora, who thankfully isn't offended by Fete's comment. "Yes, I've heard that you are a designer and that you even had a hand in designing your own outfit for tonight. How did that happen?"

"Well I just told the stylist my ideas, that's how this happened," Fete says as he gestures to his outfit, and Atropa snickers at his sass. "But if you're referring to designing in general, I've been doing this for several years and I run a wedding planning business that was my mother's."

"You do that all on your own?" Kora asks in disbelief and Atropa watches Fete, expecting a typical deadpan response from him.

But he keeps it together and in his public persona. "Well there's other employees, of course. But yes, I run it. Very successfully, I might add."

"Very impressive!" Kora says and the crowd agrees with this. "So safe to say that is what you'll do if you win?"

"Of course," Fete says, giving Kora a fake laugh. "And while I typically only design wedding dresses, I think I could make an exception to design your interview dress for next year."

"We'll have to see about that!" Kora laughs before quieting down. "So you and Atropa know each other from before the Reaping," Kora says and Fete nods his head. "How did you two meet?"

"We met as little kids," Fete tells her and Atropa finds herself nodding her head. "Her parents manufacture expensive fabrics and my mother would occasionally take me with her when she went to buy some for dresses. We've been best friends since then and…I'd do anything to get her out of this arena alive."

The buzzer goes off a few seconds after that statement and Atropa is one of the first one to applaud Fete. He gives them his fakest smile as he stands up and Kora sends him off, "Fete Bayard!"

Fete heads to his seat next to Atropa and she pats him on the shoulder. "Good job being fake."

Fete lets out a 'hmph' at this, settling into his spot and looking like he wants to fall asleep now that his interview is over.

"And now we are off to District Nine!" Kora tells the crowd. "First up is Sky Odum!"

Sky storms out onto the stage, sending daggers with her eyes at the crowd cheering loudly for the small angry girl. The girl looks even more miserable than normal in the ridiculous dress that they've put her in. A short, light pink gown covered in sequins on the top, with a high neckline and sleeves to her elbows, appropriate for a girl that young. But Sky has left a trail of feathers behind her from picking at the feathers that cover her skirt and ends of her sleeves. She ignores Kora's offer of her hand and just takes her seat, crossing her arms and glaring at the host.

"I would have murdered any client that pulled out feathers like that," Fete whispers to her and Atropa covers her mouth to hide her snicker.

"Alright, Sky," Kora starts, leaning back in her chair away from the small angry girl across from her. "We've all been wanting to know more about why exactly you volunteered."

"Oh I'm glad you asked," Sky says, clenching her fists in her lap as she glares at the host. "I volunteered because of _stupid_ Marek."

"Marek?" Kora asks her and Atropa starts to wonder if Sky might punch the host. "I just want to make sure we're talking about the same Marek… This is Marek Hall that was part of last year's Games?"

"Yes, that Marek," Sky says, exasperated with the host. "Do you know any other fucking Marek's? No. And consider yourself lucky that you never had to know him personally because he-" Sky cuts herself off as her anger keeps building in her and she shakes her head, "He-he is a lying, _terrible_ person who abandoned me!"

"Well he did try in the-"

"No!" Sky screams, cutting Kora off and making the host stare at her with wide eyes. "He didn't try! He threw his life away for someone he barely knew! He promised me he would get home but he didn't. And he didn't just die…he _abandoned_ me. He had his parents adopt someone else instead of his best friend. His. Best. Friend."

The entire space is dead silent as Sky takes a few deep angry breaths, and Atropa never would have imagined this many people could be so quiet. Sky looks as if she's trying to calm the rage in her, but loses that battle and she starts yelling, jumping out of her seat, "I was just nothing to him! He was my world, but I was just another person to preoccupy his time and laugh at his _shitty_ magic tricks!"

Sky is stopped by Peacekeepers approaching her and they grab her arms, leading her off of the stage. But she still keeps screaming, making sure everyone knows her hatred for Marek Hall. "I'm gonna kill those bastards that killed him! And then I'm going to win so I can give a big middle finger to him! Marek, I hope you're rotting in-"

Sky is brought backstage, bringing her screaming rage to an end. Kora takes a deep breath and smooths out her dress, clearly frazzled by that interview, but doing her best to keep it together. "Okay how about we bring out Sky's District partner, Eliot Eidner?" Kora asks the crowd, trying to get them back on track after Sky's interview.

Eliot is the complete opposite of his District partner as he walks out on the stage, a bundle of energy. He grins out at the crowd and waves at them, clearly cranky up the cute kid act, and Kora is clearly falling for it. But his suit is…kind of atrocious, yet he doesn't seem at all bothered by it. The majority of the suit is black, except for bright, obnoxious accents on the collar, pockets, and ends of his sleeves in _bright_ green. They gave the poor kid a white shirt and matching green bowtie that he fidgets with as he sits down across from Kora, ready for his interview.

"Terrible color choice," Fete mutters and gets a snicker from Atropa.

"Hiya Kora!" Eliot says cheerfully to the host and she smiles over at him.

"Hello, Eliot," Kora answers before jumping into the questions. "So, I heard that you have two allies."

"I sure do!" Eliot says, grinning as he turns to look over at the tributes sitting on the stage so he can wave at Davy. The older boy hesitantly returns his wave and smile, and Eliot immediately turns back to Kora. "Davy and Jessamine are great!"

"What do you like the best about your allies?" Kora asks him, leaning back in her chair and clearly ready to just let him lead the interview.

"Oh that's tough," Eliot says as he looks up, tapping his chin as he thinks about his response. "Well Davy is just really cool and smart and just really cool to hang out with. And Jessamine is also really cool and has a fun sense of humor!"

"And how did your alliance form?" Kora asks him.

"Well I talked to Davy first," Eliot tells her. "And then we talked to Jessamine and got her to join!"

"Now one of your allies has an advantage in this Quell. How do you think that will affect your alliance's odds?"

Eliot considers this for a moment before answering. "I think we're going to do pretty well. We all get along and work well together. And Jessamine has been teaching us how to sign some basic things so I think if we lose our hearing, we're going to do just fine."

"Perhaps," Kora says before the buzzer goes off. "Well, Eliot Eidner, everyone," Kora says to the crowd and they give him some applause has he heads over to his seat. "We only have two more Districts to go! Next is District Ten with Genesis Barrett!"

Genesis is calm as she walks out onto the stage, but has a similar panic in her eyes that her ally Elias had when he went out in front of the cheering crowd. Atropa gets it, the noise is a lot, but these people need to pull it together for just a few minutes. But at least Genesis has gotten a nice gown, a crème colored satin floor length gown with the upper part on her chest and sleeves sheer fabric. The entire gown is scattered with silver beaded flowers with some gold vine accents, just enough to add to it without making it look busy. Her blonde hair has been curled around her face with two braids at the sides that combine in a little bun pulling hair out of her face.

"Not bad," Fete says and that's as much of a confirmation as he'll ever give that a gown in nice.

Genesis gives a polite smile to Kora as she sits down, but her eyes tell a different story. "Welcome, Genesis," Kora starts, smiling gently at the girl and picking up on her nervousness as the crowd dies down. "We'll start easy. How about you tell us about a time you made someone smile?"

Genesis still is nervous about this question as she folds her hands in her lap, not making eye contact with Kora for more than a couple seconds at a time. "Well…" Genesis starts, clearly trying to think of something but her brain is struggling to think straight with the crowd staring at her. "In training I helped Elias achieve something he was working on for a long time, and that made him smile."

"That's good!" Kora reassures Genesis and the crowd agrees with her, but this makes Genesis grow more nervous. "Are you two allies?" Kora asks and Genesis slowly nods her head. "Did you know about what he said?"

"No… I just saw that he could fight, but didn't know where exactly he learned that," Genesis tells her, looking back at Elias sitting on the stage and watching her with big scared eyes. She gives him a gentle smile before turning back to the host. "His past doesn't define him…he's very nice and I'm happy to have him as my ally."

"Yes, it's good to have a strong ally," Kora agrees with Genesis. "But you didn't do too bad yourself! A six in training!" The crowd cheers at this and Genesis starts flushing in embarrassment at the attention. "It seems like your alliance will be one to watch in the arena."

"I suppose," Genesis says slowly, staying polite and calm. "Assuming their sight isn't taken away and they physically can't watch us."

The crowd laughs at this, surprising Genesis and making her look uncomfortable, as she clearly hadn't meant her comment as a joke. But the buzzer saves her from having to talk anymore to Kora and she visibly looks relieved as she stands up. "Genesis Barrett!" Genesis quickly walks to her seat, keeping her head down and avoiding looking at the other tributes as she walks past them. "Now let's hear from the other half of District Ten's pair, Fox Durham!"

Fox does his best to smile as he walks out onto the stage, but the man isn't fooling anyone. Somehow, his stylist has made burnt orange work as a suit color, but only keeping the color to his jacket and giving him light tan pants to wear. Underneath he wears a white and burnt orange checkered shirt with a darker orange tie, and shoes in a similar color. Fox does his best to wave at the crowd, looking nervous until he finds a camera and waves at it specifically. "Hi Maddox!"

"Interesting choice," Fete says, but really that means he doesn't approve.

"Okay," Kora says, getting the crowd to quiet down as she looks at Fox curiously. "I'm curious: who is Maddox?"

Fox immediately starts grinning at the name. "Maddox is my son," he tells her, absolutely beaming with pride. "I'm hoping he's awake and seeing his daddy look all nice up here on this stage. It's past his bedtime, but just in case he's awake, I wanted to say hi to him… He's the best part of my life. Well, second to Paloma, of course. I love you, babe!" Fox tells the cameras, getting 'aww's' from the crowd. He turns back to Kora, still smiling but a bit of sadness has filled his features. "I miss them so much."

"Well you just need to get back to them!" Kora tells him, but Fox grimaces slightly at this. She quickly changes the topic to prevent him from staying upset. "So what would you say is the most adventurous thing you've ever done?"

"Become a dad," Fox answers right away with a laugh, and the crowd joins in. "Nothing could have prepared me for that, not even growing up in a big family."

"Do you like having a large family?" Kora asks him and he nods his head without any hesitation. "What's the best part about having a large family?"

"There's always someone around," Fox answers, laughing a little to himself. "There's never a dull moment when there are ten of you and also a bunch of kids since you're the second youngest and all your older siblings have their own families."

"Wow," Kora says, clearly not knowing how to handle that many people. "I don't think I could do that. But then again, I am an only child so who knows!" The crowd laughs at this, but even though Kora said the joke, there is a hint of sadness in her eyes. She quickly lets this fade away as she focuses back on Fox. "So do you want a large family yourself?"

Fox nods his head, grinning even more at her. "Yes… Paloma is actually pregnant right now and I can't wait to have another pair of tiny feet running around the house." His smile suddenly falters and he starts stuttering, "That is – of course, if I…"

Kora pats his arm, trying to comfort him, "You have a very good reason to fight and get back home. I think you can do it!"

Fox nods his head, but from the tears forming in his eyes, he doesn't seem too sure about this. "I sure hope so…" he says quietly before the buzzer goes off. He blinks his tears back before putting his smile back on.

"Fox Durham, everyone!" Kora says to the crowd and the boy gets cheers from them as he takes his seat with the others. "And we have finally made it to District Eleven! We've heard from her two allies. Now lets talk to Jessamine Briggs!"

The last girl heads out onto the stage, unable to hear the crowd applauding for her. But she isn't alone and a man wearing an all black ensemble walks behind her, clearly trying not to draw attention away from her as her interpreter. Jessamine has been given a light blue gown to wear with accents of black at the neckline going straight across her chest to her long sleeves and at her waist, along with seemingly random fine black thread sewn throughout. The dress itself goes to mid-thigh, but attached to the waist in the back is a long piece of fabric trailing behind her. She looks optimistic – not as much as her ally did – as she takes her seat across from Kora and her interpreter goes to stand off to the side of the host so Jessamine can look at both of them.

"Cute and appropriate for her," Fete tells Atropa.

"Hello, Jessamine," Kora says and Jessamine waves and grins in return. Kora looks back at the translator and gets a thumbs up from them, before turning back to Jessamine and putting her full focus on her as if this was any of the other interviews tonight. "Let's get to know you a bit! Obviously we are getting a hand today from our interpreter, Jeffree. Do you personally prefer communicating through sign or writing in a notebook?"

Jessamine signs her response and Jeffree tells the crowd, "I like signing, but not very many people know how to sign so I don't use it as often."

"But Eliot said you were teaching your allies some signs," Kora says.

Jesssamine nods her head as she responds. "Yep, some basic things so we can be prepared if they lose their hearing!"

"I'd say that puts you at quite the advantage in this Quell," Kora answers, pausing to shrug a little. "However, it could put you at a huge disadvantage based on the sense that you lose. How do you feel about that?"

Jessamine mulls this over for a few seconds, before smiling as she responds, "I don't think I'll lose sight. I'm hopeful that the Gamemakers will be nice to me!"

"I guess we'll find out soon!" Kora answers her. "Now we know from Eliot that you are in an alliance with him and Davy. What do you think about your allies?"

"I…" Jessamine pauses in her signing to smile as she thinks about her allies. "I'm really glad they asked me to join them. I know we're going to make it far together."

The buzzer goes off and the crowd starts applauding, and Jessamine looks to her interpreter. "Thank you, Jessamine Briggs," Kora says as Jessamine grins again before heading towards her seat. "Now thank you all for your patience. We have made it to the end of our interviews so please give your full attention to Arthur Bramble!"

Arthur looks like he doesn't want to be there as he heads onto the stage, the final interview of the night. He quickly heads to his seat, not acknowledging the crowd applauding his appearance. He's been put in a dark green suit – a similar color to Carameuse's dress – with a white button up shirt and brownish green waist coat. It's topped off with a dark green bowtie and brown dress shoes. But Arthur seems uncomfortable in the suit as he sits down next to Kora, politely shaking the hosts hand.

"Eh, could be worse," Fete comments and Atropa knows he's talking about Eliot.

"Alright, Arthur, you have a very important job," Kora tells him as he adjusts his suit and he raises an eyebrow curiously. "You have to make sure we end the interviews with a bang!"

"I'll try my best," Arthur responds politely, but it's clear he isn't going to be doing that.

"So how about you tell us about what you do back in District Eleven?" Kora asks him and he nods his head, at least looking comfortable with the question.

"I help run a search and rescue team and when we don't have any emergencies, I run a survival shop," Arthur tells her, looking a bit proud of what he does. "It was my father's team and shop first but…" Arthur pauses, seemingly considering if he wants to keep going with that statement. "But he passed away on a mission a couple years ago."

"That's a very noble cause that he had and one that you have taken on," Kora tells him, giving him a gentle smile. "If you had the chance, what would you say to him?"

Arthur looks uncomfortable at the question, but he still answers it. "I…I would tell him what I've done since he passed and hope that he is proud of me."

"Well I think he would be!" Kora answers and the crowd applauds this, surprising Arthur. "Clearly you have lots of survival skills. How do you think your life back in Eleven has prepared you for these Games?"

"Well, I think I can handle just about any nature setting in the arena, and luckily those are common," Arthur answers her.

"But this is a Quell," Kora retorts and Arthur purses his lips. "Surely Head Gamemaker Lukianas has created something we haven't seen before!"

"I guess we'll see soon enough," Arthur answers her, sounding unhappy at the thought of anything other than a nature arena.

"Well, maybe you'll see!" Kora jokes and the crowd laughs, but Arthur remains silent at her poorly timed joke about them losing their senses. Relief immediately fills his face at the buzzer going off and he stands up right away to go to his spot with the others, even though he won't be there for very long. "Arthur Bramble!"

Kora stands up and walks to the center of the stage, hands clasped in front of her and grinning in excitement. "Well there you have it, everyone! Our interviews for the 150th Hunger Games and Sixth Quarter Quell!"

* * *

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

Seraphim heads back into the Games Headquarters, knowing the interviews didn't end terribly. There were so many things that could have gone wrong. The rebels could have attacked the tributes or Kora. Holly could have said something. The crowd could have reacted negatively to Adam.

They made it through the interviews, but they're about to do their riskiest thing yet. If the rebels find out…he dreads what will happen. But the President insisted.

So here he is, leading Adam away from the other tributes with Stefan by his side, insisting on going wherever his tribute went, down to the floors below the training center. Adam hasn't questioned him about it, but Stefan has been giving him dirty looks, as if that would stop him from doing something bad to Adam.

They finally reach the room and Seraphim takes a deep breath before opening the door and stepping in to the room filled with a medical team and the President. Adam freezes in the doorway, hands protectively on his baby, and the President smiles at him. "Adam, please, I promise you and your baby are going to be safe."

"What's going on…" Adam says hesitantly, looking between the team, the President, Seraphim, and his mentor.

"We couldn't do this sooner out of fear you would say something during your interview," President Xavier says as he steps closer to Adam. Stefan takes a step forward at well, angling himself slightly in front of the young boy. "Stefan, the boy is going to be safe."

"Sorry if I don't quite believe that yet, sir," Stefan responds to him as he crosses his arms. "I'm not moving until I know what's going on here."

"Very well," President Xavier tells him. "But know that the consequences of you mentioning this outside of this room are very high. I will do anything to protect this country. But…I think you'll agree, considering your relationship with Luciano's older sibling."

Seraphim has to hold back a laugh as he watches Stefan actually start blushing at this, but turns it into a cough when the victor glares at him. "Adam will be getting a cesarean procedure to deliver his baby. We have the best staff here and he will be almost fully healed up by the start of the Games."

Adam gasps at this and puts both hands on his stomach, his eyes tearing up a little as he looks between the two. "But what will…what will happen to him if I-if I don't win?"

Seraphim shares a look with the President, not really knowing for sure yet the answer to that. Seraphim has said that he would get someone to care for the baby for now, but after the Games end…who knows?

President Xavier is the first one to speak up. "Your baby will be kept safe. I promise you."

Adam lets out a long breath at this before wiping at tears that want to fall. "I've been so worried about keeping him safe…so thank you for this."

President Xavier smiles at Adam, but Seraphim just feels a pit of guilt in his stomach for Adam. He's just trying to protect his baby…and all this time, he's been thinking they might both die in the arena. "Come," the President says to Adam, putting a hand on his shoulder and guiding him into the room. "It's time for you to meet your baby."

Seraphim stays back with Stefan, watching the boy start to smile as he's led away by the team. Seraphim smiles a little, but that soon fades away when he turns to Stefan, finding the victor staring at him with narrowed eyes and his arms crossed. "Why are you doing this for him?"

"It's what the President wanted," Seraphim answers honestly, knowing he can trust Stefan not to be with the rebels. Not when he's been dating a council member's sibling for years. "That baby…is related to the rebels in Seven."

Stefan's eyes widen at this before he starts shaking his head. "When are you people going to do something about them?"

"We're working on it," Seraphim tells him, uneasy as he rubs his arm as phantom pain shoots through it from the long healed bullet wound.

"Well work harder," Stefan huffs as he turns to face the operating room. "And you better make sure that baby is cared for or else."

"He will be," Seraphim reassures him before pulling out his phone. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have an important phone call to make."

Stefan doesn't say anything, so Seraphim walks down to the end of the hallway so Stefan won't overhear him. He quickly dials the number he knows by heart and waits as it rings.

"Hi honey, you looked great tonight! I bet Zephyr couldn't stop looking at you."

"Hi Mom," Seraphim says, blushing at the mention of Zephyr. He's been too busy with the Games approaching to think about seeing him tomorrow at the party, but now he's a nervous wreck. "Look, I didn't call to talk about Zephyr…"

"Well I know that, dear," Tara reassures him and Seraphim starts pacing the hallway. "Now what's up? You don't usually have time to call me during the Games."

"You're right…" Seraphim sighs as he pushes back his hair. He looks back down the hallway to where Stefan stands outside the operating room, worry all over his face for his tribute. "I…have an unusual request to ask of you…at least until I can figure out something else."

"You know I would do anything for you, Serry."

Seraphim stops his pacing at this, afraid of putting his mother in harm's way, even though she will never say no. "I know you would. That's why I'm calling you."

* * *

 **And we have made it through the interviews! Up next is the party and let me tell you, I am very hyped to get to those chapters! They're going to be long because I want to make sure each tribute is seen during the POVs. But each POV tribute will still get their own time, similarly to the interviews!**

 **Thoughts on this round of interviews? Anything surprising? And of course we had a bit of subplot thrown in there with Adam. We'll find out some more about that and what happens to him soon.**

 **I will hopefully have the first party chapter up soon! But before then, I will be posting the Wayward Games finale and then the first Legacy prologue, so keep a look out for that this weekend!**


	27. Party Part 1: Talk The Talk

**Quick spoiler warning for the victor of Wayward being mentioned in this chapter so if you haven't read that yet, read at your own risk of spoilers.**

* * *

 **Chapter 23:**

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

Seraphim is a nervous wreck as he waits in a side room of the President's mansion for the party to start. Not because of all the responsibilities weighing on his shoulders as the start of the Quell looms over him. Not because there's still the threat of rebels attacking him again. No, Seraphim isn't nervous for those reasons.

He's nervous about seeing a certain victor.

He's seen the guest list of the victors attending and their guests, having made sure that each District has at least three victors in attendance. And given District Two's spot as the winner of the previous Quell, it should be no surprise that they're sending almost all of their victors to this party, including the one Seraphim is anxious about seeing again for the first time in months.

"Stop pacing, Serry, things are going to be fine with the Quell."

Seraphim sighs but stops pacing as he faces his mother, still weirded out at the sight of her holding the newborn baby Cain. But he knew she wouldn't say no to watching the baby and she hasn't stopped gushing about him. "It's not the Quell I'm nervous about," Seraphim tells her, looking down to pick at his fingernails as he says in a rushed whisper, "It's seeing Zephyr again."

Tara starts laughing at him and he looks up to find her giving him an amused look. "Oh Serry, that boy is head over heels for you, just like you are for him." Seraphim face heats up at this and he looks around to see who overhead her, finding Laelia and Kora snickering together, only making his cheeks flush even more in embarrassment. "Just get your courage to talk to him tonight and discuss how you feel."

"It's not that simple, Mom," Seraphim sighs as he goes to run a hand through his hair, only for his mother to smack his hand away to not mess up the perfectly styled look. "His ex is going to be here…"

"The ex who abandoned him and didn't treat him right," Tara answers, sounding quite angry at Jory. "Good, Zephyr can see how different you are from him."

Seraphim shakes his head at her, not really believing that will be the case. The baby in her arms starts fussing and Tara quickly turns her attention to him, providing Seraphim a way to change the topic. "You sure you're going to be okay babysitting him and the other victor kids tonight?"

"Absolutely," Tara says, smiling down at the baby as she bounces him in her arms. "I love children. And I won't be alone, Iris is helping out and bringing some friends with her."

"I know," Seraphim answers, smiling at his mother. She's only told him too many times that she can't wait for him to have kids so she can watch her grandbabies. He glances at his watch before looking around at the others present in the room. "It's just about time. Kora, are you ready to go out on the stage to announce each District arriving?"

"Yes sir," Kora answers with a bit of a forced smile. She grabs onto her best friend's hand before continuing, "Laelia is going to help me out."

"Good," Seraphim tells her, happy to see Kora have support. And once this Quell is done, the first thing he's going to do is find someone to work with Kora. "Well, let's head on out then."

Seraphim leads the way out for the small group of people, watching his mother head in a different direction to the room set aside for all the kids of victors that need a babysitter. They quickly reach the large ballroom and Seraphim, Kora, and Laelia head up onto the stage to applause from the gathered Capitolites. So many people have gathered here for this party: members of the elite and in the President's circle; former escorts and their families; press to report on the party; and a limited amount of everyday Capitol citizens who were lucky enough to be chosen from the lottery they created for tickets to the party.

Seraphim motions for them to quiet down, starting to grin at the energy of the room. "Welcome, everyone, to the first party to celebrate the start of the Hunger Games! I'll pass it over to Kora because she is much better at making these announcements than me, but thank you all for being here and here's to a great night, and an even greater Quarter Quell!"

Seraphim steps aside, gesturing for Kora to take the spot in front of the microphone instead of him and he heads down the steps on the side of the stage, finding a place near the front of the crowd to have a good view of the Districts entering the ballroom.

"First up is District One with Anastacia Astoria and Major Emerson-Ness, their mentors Thetis Oneroi and Emilio Signe, and some surprise victor guests!"

The crowd applauds as District One enters, the tributes and their mentors leading the way into the room. Major grins as he waves around at the crowd while Anastacia gives much smaller waves. They're followed by a group of victors: Aura and her husband, Rhodon; Tanya, the first career victor of the past 75 years; Gwen, their youngest victor, looking nervous about the crowd; Eirene and Dracana, two of the women helping to run the training academy.

"Next up is District Two with Bellona Silvanus and Odyssey Gunderson, their mentors Glacia and Darach Westmann and Kat Liero, and some surprise victor guests!"

Odyssey and Bell walk out to loud applause, waving and playing up the crowd like they've done every time they have had a public appearance. The group of victors following behind them is quite large, and it seems as if Two has sent a majority of their victors: Jory Foran, who winks over at Emilio, Bronn Vangler, Lysander Morrow, Maylene Henderson – who stands a fair distance back from Glacia, Roxanne Nells and her girlfriend, Clemont Rodge, and Misha Harrington with a younger person, protectively keeping a hand on their shoulder as he leads them, but keeps staring over at the tributes. Seraphim stands on his toes to see into the crowd of victors, starting to get worried that he backed out, before finally catching a glimpse of Zephyr in the back, trying to stay hidden and far away from Jory. Seraphim can't help the grin on his face as he sees Zephyr walk by, but the man doesn't see him.

"Next up is District Three with Amelia Fensa and Calvin Tailor, their mentors Isidore Tecne and Matla Jarend, and some surprise victor guests!"

This group is much more subdued and smaller compared to Two, with Amelia giving hesitant waves and Calvin staying cool as he walks in. Only two victors accompany them: Electro with his wife and Moro walking with one of his grandchildren.

"Next up is District Four with Delta Zale and Demarcus Pollock, their mentors Okeanas Var and Iona Lamonte, and some surprise victor guests!"

These two seem a lot more awkward about entering in front of the crowd. Delta doesn't wave at them while Demarcus does his best to acknowledge them. Behind them is a small but respectable group of victors: Delmar and his close friend and fellow victor Nerissa, and Muir Asturias and her husband Stelios.

"Next up is District Five with Eva Orville-Wright and Davy Emmerich, their mentors Letha Calder and Galen Maksim, and some surprise victor guests!"

Eva has an expressionless look on her face as she walks in, while Davy tries to wave at the crowd, his face blushing at the attention as he stays close to his mentor, who's entire family follows close behind her. They only have one extra victor with them: Aion Machai, Letha's former mentor.

"Next up is District Six with Courtney Cassini and Elias Pilkvist, their mentors Jarle Eurydia and Dampero Ramin, and some surprise victor guests!"

Courtney waves happily at the crowd while Elias stares around with large nervous eyes before focusing on where he's walking instead of the many people staring. Dampero walks with his best friend Bee Morvay-Maxwell – who's family is surely in the crowd – and Jarle walks with his wife. Only one victor follows them in, Embla Rinyes, former mentor for Dampero.

"Next up is District Seven with Carameuse Juniper and Adam Vignola, their mentors Glenwood Salix and Stefan Tsuga, and some surprise victor guests!"

Seraphim watches this pair carefully as well as the crowd response. Carameuse – or Holly – keeps her head down as she walks in, while Adam has exhaustion all over his face as he slowly walks in, holding his healing stomach carefully. Their mentors get more of a reaction than the tributes, with Glen having Caladium as his date and Stefan making a very rare appearance with his partner, Winona Samson. And they are joined by Stefan's close friend and fellow victor, Laurel Trenton.

"Next up is District Eight with Atropa Seigal and Fete Bayard, their mentors Hession Dion, and Astrid Vadim and Clark Botwright, and some surprise victor guests!"

The crowd cheers loudly for this group, but again, Seraphim is pretty sure the reaction is to their victors. After all, why wouldn't they cheer for their youngest victor Clark with his boyfriend Stig, his sassy mentor Astrid, and the fourth Quell victor Hessian Dion? But Atropa and Fete do their best to appeal to the crowd, waving and giving grins that Seraphim is starting to realize are very fake from watching them in training. They have a good sized group of victors with them: Rami Grant, Barathea Pallas, and Velour Thurston.

"Next up is District Nine with Sky Odum and Eliot Eidner, their mentors Fonio Donnan and Mazie Kiernan, and some surprise victor guests!"

Seraphim keeps a close eye on Sky as she walks out with Fonio keeping a hand on her shoulder, scowling at the crowd but staying silent, while Eliot grins and waves at the cheering crowd. Again, a small group of victors is with them: Sativa sticks close to Mazie's side, looking like she would rather be anywhere but here, and Lelantos Rycroft with their husband Conway and their kids – who are really more of adults than kids – who at least tries to look happy at the crowd greeting them, unlike how Sativa is reacting.

"Next up is District Ten with Genesis Barrett and Fox Durham, their mentors Pigmy Dima and Johan Bonavento, and some surprise victor guests!"

Genesis glances around the crowd nervously as they enter, but Fox does much better and is friendly with them. The group with them is small, just their mentors, Pigmy's younger twin brothers, and Amara Harvelle, the victor who helped bring Pigmy home.

"And lastly, District Eleven with Jessamine Briggs and Arthur Bramble, their mentors Kanzi Yesenia and Pinova Braeburn, and, well, you can guess who the surprise victor guest is!"

The crowd applauds the last District and Jessamine gives a naïve smile and waves at the people gathered, something Arthur tries to imitate. Only one other guest has joined them: Garia Solanum, the oldest victor in District Eleven, hobbling along with a cane to support her.

"And now let's bring out our escorts!" Each escort enters as Kora and Laelia call out their names.

"Jeweladia Sparkington!" The young girl looks thrilled to be representing District One and she waves with both hands as she takes her spot with her team.

"Flannery Escouvier!" Flannery waves at the crowd, getting a very warm response from her role in bringing home many victors to Two.

"Rosalina Silver!" The girl carefully heads out, doing her very best and succeeding at not knocking anything over with her large wings.

"Bobby Bobbins!" The man has an infectious grin on his face as he heads out, met surprisingly well by the crowd, thanks to him escorting for Clark last year.

"Bergundility Venetiality Muatamphere!" The woman does her best to not look disappointed at her spot in line, but still, Seraphim knows he has to watch her to see if she's suitable to keep escorting.

"Thorichelle Asia Shamon!" The youngest escort is very anxious as she heads out, walking as quickly as possible over to the District Six team to get the attention off of her.

"Bella Lavish!" The woman keeps her head high, doing her best with the pair of tributes she has this year, and Seraphim has to give her credit for handling them well.

"Devrek Pecivo!" The young man walks out playing his recorder, a bit of an improvement from the Reaping, but still not very good. Seraphim glances over at the stage, finding Laelia blushing at the escort's entrance.

"Agapios Wheatley Hallorian!" The eldest escort this year walks out slowly, a pleasant smile on his face, trying to hide the tired look in his eyes. He very much deserves to retire after this year.

"Icarus Clo!" The man who has stuck around in Ten for years despite being given opportunities for promotion looks a bit happy about the attention being shown to him.

"And finally, Aineon Ashminov!" The last escort heads out into the crowd playing his flute, sounding way better than Devrek did on his recorder. He finishes with a flourish before bowing in his spot with the District Eleven team, his girlfriend Pinova cheering him on loudly.

The crowd turns their attention back to the stage now that all of the tributes, victors, and escorts have arrived. "And now, to officially start this party, please welcome President Mendalius Xavier!"

The President of Panem takes the stage and waits for the crowd to quiet down before addressing them. "Welcome, everyone, to our inaugural party to begin the Sixth Quarter Quell! I am thrilled to have you all here tonight. Tributes, enjoy this last celebration before the Hunger Games begin tomorrow. This party is for you. Feast, dance, and celebrate being part of history!"

* * *

 _Delta Zale, 17, District Four_

Delta stands awkwardly near the drink table, hovering near Okeanas, and not quite knowing what she should be doing right now. Socializing with others her age has never been a strong point of hers. Really, any socializing, for that matter. She's not good at talking to the sponsors like Bell is, out there chatting away with her two mentors and another one of the Two victors. She's not good at being the life of the party and dancing up a storm in the middle of the room, also with sponsors, like Odyssey is doing. So she's fine to sit back and let Okeanas handle the talking to the sponsors. After all, she's the one that has been dealing with them for years. They'll all see soon enough how willing she is to fight. That will matter more by this time tomorrow than if she was able to talk to someone at this party tonight.

"Look, you have never seen anyone like Delta before," Okeanas animatedly tells the crowd of Capitolites surrounding them, and they all look over and study Delta like she's an animal on display in the zoo. "She's jumped more ranks in training than anyone ever before. Do you really think we would pick a seventeen year old for this Quell if she wasn't better than the rest? Do you really think I personally would mentor anyone I didn't think was going to win?"

Delta takes a sip of her drink before picking at some of the food she's gathered, anything to keep her mouth busy to avoid having to talk to these people. She didn't come here to party in frilly dresses and flatter Capitolites. She came for revenge and to show the rebels they messed with the wrong family.

 _Soon._ Soon she will get her chance to show them all. In less than 24 hours, they'll be in the arena. She'll know by this time tomorrow which sense has been taken away from her for the Quell. She'll have made kills.

Her eyes wander around the ballroom, wondering which tributes will be dead by her hand tomorrow. It's morbid, yes, but it's the reality of the Hunger Games. People don't win the Games by being unwilling to kill. Some of the others don't seem like they'll be hard to defeat in a fight. Like that boy from Nine and his ally, the deaf girl, who dance around in the middle of the floor, laughing as they move around with each other. Delta looks around, not seeing their third ally with them, and eventually finds him hovering near his mentor Letha around a small table with her family. Well, at least with her husband and youngest son, with the older boys nowhere to be seen. Davy stands nervously with them, chatting with Letha and seemingly blushing whenever he looks over at her youngest son, who seems oblivious to the boy's crush. But who is Delta to judge? She knows nothing about romance and crushes. She'd probably be just as oblivious.

Not too far away from them, Delta finds Major leaning against the wall and talking to her very anxious looking District partner. She's tried with him, but hasn't been too much help with his social anxiety. Just look at her, standing here and letting her mentor do all the talking for her. But she's glad that Major has reached out to Demarcus and seems to have bonded with him. She can tell it's already helped him out immensely having someone in the alliance to count on.

"You should watch out for Demarcus talking to Major."

"What?" Delta asks as she turns to face her ally who also seems to be avoiding the majority of the party by hiding by the drinks. It doesn't come as that much of a surprise considering Anastacia had stayed back from a lot of the socializing with their alliance, just like Delta did, during training. But why is she coming to talk to her? Can't she talk to one of the others?

Well…none of the others are avoiding socializing.

Anastacia stares over at Demarcus and Major, her face unreadable as she watches their District partners. "I said to watch out for him."

"Yes, but why?" Delta asks, confused by what Anastacia is telling her. She hasn't seen any reason in training to suggest that there's any reason specifically for her to watch Major. Yes, he got the same high score as her, but she's more concerned about the one score higher than all of theirs. "Major is being a friend to Demarcus," Delta tells her, staring over at the pair. "He's been friendly with him since the chariot rides. Are you saying I should watch him for being friendly?"

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying," Anastacia responds, bringing Delta's gaze back to the girl from One with an eyebrow raised in questioning. "I don't…know exactly what it is, but Major has been giving me a bad feeling for years."

Delta narrows her eyes at this, thoughts immediately running wild and assuming the worst about Major: that he is a rebel. And if there's a small chance that there's a rebel in these Games, Delta is going to make absolutely certain they never make it out of the arena alive. "Then we destroy him."

Anastacia lets out a surprised huff of laughter at Delta's jump to immediately destroying Major and she shakes her head. "Not sure if we need to be that extreme…yet." Anastacia continues to watch Major, her arms crossing as he glances over and gives them a wave with that grin he always has. "You know those people you want to trust but just make you have this terrible pit in your stomach? That's Major to me…"

"Okay, so he's just a cutthroat career, so are we," Delta says, not quite understanding what's Anastacia's deal with her District partner. Anastacia shakes her head at Delta, surprising her a bit. "You're saying you haven't done something cutthroat to make it to this spot?"

"Not like he has," Anastacia says quietly, hesitating for a moment. "I think."

Delta takes a long sip of her drink, confused by what Anastacia is telling her. "Then tell me, what has he done?"

"Well…" Anastacia hesitates, and Delta stares at her for a few long seconds of silence. "I think…he might have started dating his boyfriend, Shard, just to take his spot. Shard was number one and Major number two for years in training…and when it's finally time for our age group to be chosen, Shard just backs out?"

"Sounds like he was just in love and didn't want to die," Delta shrugs at this, not understanding the whole love thing and letting that get in the way of training.

Anastacia shakes her head at Delta. "No. I've known Shard for years. He has changed ever since dating Major and I…I can recognize a victim of abuse…"

" _Oh._ " Delta says to her, processing that information and staring at Major in a new light, studying him and trying to figure out if he really could have done that. He looks so sweet and innocent and yet…his training score was an eleven…

"He finds those that are vulnerable…" Anastacia continues, both of them staring over at Major and Demarcus, the boy in their alliance that clearly suffers from social anxiety and has low self-esteem… "He gains their trust and once they're no longer useful to him, well…" Delta looks over at Anastacia to see her draw her finger across her neck.

"Let's destroy the bastard," Delta says immediately, clenching her fists in anger. How _dare_ he do this to Demarcus? They're not friends by any means, but he's also from Four and on the small chance Delta doesn't win, he's the one she's rooting for.

"I'd love to," Anastacia says with a small smile. "But we have to wait… If we attack him with just us two against him, the others won't let that fly without repercussions."

Delta scowls at this, never being one to be patient and wait. "So we have to get District Two with us?"

"Yes," Anastacia nods at her. "I think Odyssey has already fallen for Major's tricks, but maybe we can get Bellona to-"

"Excuse me."

The two both look over at the person approaching them, giving the two a pleasant smile as they approach. "Pardon me interrupting you. I'm Luciano Samson, one of the Council members. Delta, the President would like to speak to you."

Anastacia gives Delta a surprised look at this, but Delta is only a tiny bit surprised. "Lead the way."

Luciano pauses for a moment, looking over at Delta's mentor standing nearby. "Okeanas, I need you to come with us too."

Okeanas turns around, looking for a moment like she's going to yell at whoever has interrupted her talking to sponsors, but quickly stops herself when she realizes who it is. "Alright…"

Delta looks back at Anastacia, giving her a shrug at having to leave her ally. Anastacia just gives her a smile in return, "We'll talk more later."

Delta nods before turning to watch where Luciano is leading them. They take them through the main room of the party and out into a side hallway. They pass one open door where she sees Fox and Adam inside, along with a bunch of children that Delta recognizes as children of victors. Fox is playing on the floor, pretending to be a horse and letting a young girl ride on his back with an older woman holding her steading, while Adam holds a small baby, looking so happy as he coos at the tiny child.

But Luciano keeps leading them past that room until they reach a door with two guards on either side, wearing the traditional uniform of the President's guard. They quickly open the door for Luciano and the three file in, but it seems like they're the last ones to arrive. The President sits behind his desk with the other two members of the council, smiling at Delta as she approaches the chairs across from him, one already occupied by Iona and with the three other victors from District Four here hovering behind her. Delmar and Nerissa look uncomfortable at this meeting, but Muir is much more relaxed in the presence of the President of Panem. Delta takes the seat in the middle and Okeanas sits in the other as she looks around in confusion. "Shouldn't Demarcus be here if we have the entire District Four team here?"

"Demarcus isn't involved in things related to the rebels," President Xavier says coolly and Delta immediately tenses up as she watches him carefully. "I had wanted to simply talk to you alone, Delta, to inform you of…something I need you to do in the arena. But, there has also been something in District Four that needs to be addressed by the victors. Which would you like to hear first?"

"The victor information, obviously," Okeanas speaks up before Delta even has the chance to think about it.

"Very well," President Xavier says as he pulls out a folder and opens it, revealing a picture that he slides across the desk towards them. They all lean closer to look at the image, finding the side of a building that they all recognized defaced by a message. "The rebels have left a message on the training center…"

" _Death to the Games."_

Okeanas curses immediately and goes to stand up, a fire in her eyes that's surprising for someone of her age. "Let me go back and deal with this. No one messes with my training center."

Iona clears her throat and Okeanas looks down at her. "Actually, Okeanas…I believe it's technically _my_ training center…"

Okeanas scowls at this, "Technicalities. Regardless, let me go back."

President Xavier holds up his hand, stopping the two from bickering. "If one of you must go back…I have to interfere and have it be Iona. We don't know if the rebels are getting ready to attack and Okeanas…you may…provoke them."

Okeanas crosses her arms as she sits back down, her scowl deepening, but she stays quiet. Iona is the one to speak up once more. "Of course, sir… Except who will take over mentoring Demarcus?" She turns around to look at the three victors with them. "Delmar?"

The young man quickly shakes his head at her. "No, I…" He glances over at Okeanas scowling and shakes his head once more. "Nope."

"Nerissa?"

The youngest of their victors laughs at the suggestion. "You really want me to mentor? I only came to this party because Delmar wanted me to go."

Muir sighs loudly as they all turn their attention to her. "I guess that means I have to mentor, huh?"

"I suppose we could ask one of the others back home if they could get here before tomorrow-"

"No," Muir says, interrupting Iona. She shakes her head at them, not looking too pleased at this change. "I don't really like mentoring…or rather, the volunteers don't want to be mentored by someone who did a 'shitty betrayal' like I did and didn't fight my final opponent…"

Okeanas laughs at this, "I still think that was a great move."

"Of course you ignore the fact that they were my friend," Muir mutters before looking at the President and clearing her throat. "I'll mentor Demarcus so Iona can head back to Four." She turns to look at Okeanas, a bit of annoyance on her face at her former mentor but there's also a hint of amusement in her eyes. "Looks like we're working together again, just like old times."

"Indeed," Okeanas answers with a laugh.

The President clears his throat to get their attention once more. "If that's settled, there's something I need to discuss with Delta, and I would prefer alone."

"Of course, sir," Iona speaks up first and stands, motioning for Okeanas to follow her lead. She waits until the older woman begrudgingly stands and leads the others out. "Come on, people might be wondering why almost the entire Four team has disappeared. And we have to go find Demarcus."

Muir's response is cut off by the door shutting behind their group, leaving Delta alone with some of the most important people in Panem. If someone would have told Delta three years ago that she would be sitting across from the President of Panem and be having a civil conversation, she would have laughed in their faces.

"Well, Miss Zale," President Xavier starts before motioning to the side. "Would you like some tea?"

"I'm good," Delta responds.

"Very well," President Xavier answers as he takes a sip of his own tea. "Now, first and foremost, I would like to say thank you for your recent service towards Panem and congratulations on making it to the Games."

"It's been my pleasure," Delta says, sitting up straighter from the praise from the President. "And I'm going to win these Games in the name of the Capitol."

"Yes, I have heard," he answers softly, keeping his face neutral. "Now speaking of the Games…there is an important matter that we need you to handle…"

"Anything you need," Delta answers immediately, ready to prove her loyalty to the Capitol.

President Xavier glances over at Luciano and they step forward, turning on a small desk projector that brings up an image of one of the tributes. "The Games have been compromised by rebels. The girl from Seven is not actually Carameuse Juniper, but a rebel by the name of Holly Alder that has claimed her identity."

Delta's hands clench into fists as her heart starts racing. Slowly, anger builds up in her, all at the mention of rebels. How dare they come into the Games and threaten them? "So that's why she got the twelve," Delta mutters angrily, glaring at the picture of the girl being shown to her.

"Yes, we needed to make sure she would be targeted," President Xavier speaks up and Delta takes a deep breath, trying to control her rage as she turns back to him. He's not the one to be angry at. Holly is the person. "Given your recent role as an informant for the Capitol, we decided we should tell you about this. It is…of utmost importance that Holly Alder is eliminated in that arena."

"You don't need to tell me twice," Delta says through her teeth, doing her best to control her anger. "Anything else, sir?"

"That will be all, thank you, Delta," President Xavier stands up and Delta does the same, and he offers her his hand to shake. She takes it right away and he holds onto her hand as he continues, staring at her intensely. "You haven't let us down yet. Please don't start now."

Delta lets out a laugh at this as the President lets go of her hand. "Oh you have nothing to worry about. That girl is dead meat."

President Xavier nods his head before motioning to Council Member Venezia. "Rosabella will lead you out and please bring Amelia and Calvin back here."

"Yes sir," the woman answers him before smiling at Delta and motioning towards the door. "After you, dear."

Delta nods, still holding in her rage, and lets Rosabella lead her back to the party. She keeps her fists clenched at her sides and takes slow deep breaths to control herself. Rosabella tries to make small talk, but Delta barely hears what she's saying. When they reach the ballroom, her eyes immediately start searching around the room, searching for the source of her rage. She just catches a glimpse of Cara- no, _Holly_ , as she heads into the bathroom, and she takes off quickly across the room to follow her in.

She enters the fancy restroom, finding a couple Capitolites in there fixing their appearance. But Delta looks towards the stalls, waiting for Holly to step out of them.

Finally, the girl steps out, looking down to adjust her shirt tucked into her pants and completely unaware of Delta being there until she slams Holly into the wall. The girl cries out as Delta puts her arm against her throat with just enough pressure to make it start being hard to breath, but not enough to hurt her. Yet. "Listen to me, you piece of trash," Delta whispers to the terrified girl, leaning closer to her face. Holly tries to flinch away from her, but she has nowhere to go. "I know who you are." She watches in satisfaction as Holly's eyes widen in fear and she lets out a rage filled laugh. "You better enjoy tonight because you are never leaving that arena alive."

With that, Delta releases the girl and steps back, watching as she starts coughing and grabbing her throat. Delta quickly turns to leave, not sure if she can control herself and not hurt Holly right now, and she pushes through the gawking Capitolites. "You didn't see _anything_ ," she spits out at them and they all quickly turn back to the mirrors, terror on their faces as Delta leaves them behind.

Delta pauses when she steps into the ballroom, taking a few deep breaths to calm herself down and focus on the overwhelming amount of things happening in the room. She has no idea what to even do right now, but she needs something to distract herself before she turns back around and attacks the girl – even if she deserves it. While looking around, she finds Anastacia standing on her own, looking lost about what to do, and Delta starts storming over to her. Anastacia looks up as Delta approaches and brief concern appears on her face before Delta grabs her arm and starts pulling her to the side of the room. "What's going on?"

"You're going to tell me everything about Major and we're going to make a plan to take down that sneaky bastard."

* * *

 _Amelia Fensa, 18, District Three_

Amelia is trying her best. Really, she truly is. She thought she was starting to do better, starting to find that old part of herself before last year's Games broke her. But she isn't doing better. Everyone was saying the party would be great. But in this crowded room, Amelia feels more alone than she has in the past year.

She just can't shake the feeling that she's holding back her allies. Neither of them have lingering trauma like she does. None of them lost their brother last year in the Games and now must face the same death match, but worse with the Quell twist. Neither of them are barely keeping it together every day, waking up each morning and telling themselves to just get through this day, take life one day at a time. Well, maybe Courtney does that, but in a much more optimistic way.

Neither of them are broken like her.

And it shows in how differently they are handling the party. Courtney is having the time of her life, dancing right in front of the stage and singing along with that boyband that she loves so much. She even went up on stage once with them and sang a song with them, and Amelia thought for a second Courtney might die of happiness before the Games even start. She's not moping around, fearful that tonight could be her last night alive on this earth. And Eva is making sure to get every opportunity to survive in the arena, talking up as many sponsors as she possibly can with her mentor Galen.

Amelia knows she should be out there too, talking to people in the hopes that they'll give her a gift when she desperately needs help. But she can't make herself lie to these people and tell them what a great future she has and why they should sponsor her over the 21 other tributes here. Tributes with higher odds than her or grander reasons for winning the Games. Or even both. What does Amelia have going for her that makes her more likely to win than the careers with their training? What reasons does she have to win that are better than providing a safe space for abuse victims or getting better mental health care in her District? She doesn't even _know_ what District to call her home anymore… All she has going for her is a family history in the Games and her university acceptance. Nothing about her actual skills or capabilities with the Games.

Which is why she's just been wandering aimlessly around the party, trying not to hinder her allies and find something that she can do that will actually help her out in the arena tomorrow. But it seems the only thing she can do is impress the Capitolites here and she really doesn't feel like she has the energy to pretend to them.

Somehow, Amelia finds her way outside to the vast garden, and the cool summer air and quiet compared to inside is an immediate relief for her. She starts down the steps and towards the perfectly manicured flowers and fountains, searching for a place to just sit for a bit alone.

"Amelia?"

She stops at the hesitant and small voice calling out her name, recognizing the person immediately. After all, how could she not recognize the voice of the boy who got her to get back on track with her education and do something with her life after Aero's death? "Hey Clark," Amelia says quietly as she turns to face the youngest victor, trying not to let the overwhelming feeling of despair show in her voice. "What are you doing out here?"

"Making sure Bjark here doesn't leave an unpleasant stain on the President's rugs," Clark gestures to the now very large dog next to him, and Amelia has to do a double take after seeing how much the puppy has grown in the last six months. "Yeah, they didn't tell me how big he would get," Clark laughs at this, but Amelia can see on his face the pain he's trying to cover up.

"How are your tributes doing?" Amelia sits down on a nearby fountain and pats the spot next to him, and Clark sits next to her. Bjark immediately tries to climb up onto Clark's lap, but he instructs the dog to sit and after a few seconds of not looking like he wants to listen, he finally sits in front of Clark and rests his head on his owner's lap.

Clark shakes his head as he looks back to the door leading into the mansion. "Last I checked, Astrid and Fete were sassing everyone, and Atropa was along for the ride."

"Is that really going to work to get sponsors?" Amelia asks him, a little in disbelief that sassing sponsors could actually help.

"It's worked for Astrid before," Clark says with a chuckle, before trailing off and quieting down. "It worked for me…"

Amelia stares over at him, really looking at the young boy – because really, he might have the title of victor, but he's still only fourteen. His eyes are lined with bags and it looks like he hasn't slept well in days, if not weeks. Deep concern is in his eyes as he stares back at her, before scrunching his face in a very Clark-esque manner. "What are you staring at? Do I have food on my face?"

"How are you doing?" Amelia asks him gently, concerned for this boy that has helped her out so much.

Clark looks surprised by the question for a moment, as if he should be the one asking it, not her, before letting out a loud sigh. "Barely holding it together."

"Same," Amelia jokes, letting out a laugh that is far from humorous, but at least she gets a small hint of a smile from the victor. "I can't even imagine what it's like being back here for you."

"It's…" Clark sighs once more and shakes his head, sitting in silence for a minute as he pets his dog. "I don't even know how to describe it, there's so many different feelings… It's…terrible. Being back on that floor and without Viradie there…I hate it. And everyone expects me to mentor someone five years older than me and it's just weird. I feel like I don't deserve to be here with the other victors…"

"You do deserve to be here…" Amelia tells him quietly, really believing it, even if part of her deep down still wishes that it was Aero sitting with her instead. But how can she blame Clark for that? He never even talked to Aero in the arena.

Clark suddenly looks up at her, his eyes watering with tears he's doing his best to keep back. "Did you really mean what you said in your interview?"

"Yes," Amelia answers immediately. "Everything I said was honest."

"I feel like it's my fault you're here," Clark whispers to her, his gaze focused on the big dog head resting in his lap and avoiding Amelia. "If I hadn't told you to apply, you wouldn't-"

"I would have had a chance of being reaped back in Six," Amelia interrupts him, hating already the blame Clark is trying to put on himself.

"But you should have been safe!" Clark says loudly, stunning them both into silence as they stare at each other in surprise: Clark, from revealing that information, and Amelia, from not knowing that Clark knew.

"How did you know?" Amelia whispers to him.

"How did _you_ know?" Clark asks in return, sounding incredulous about it.

"President Xavier told us…"

"Well I told President Xavier to do that…" Clark shuts his eyes, trying to hide the pain from Amelia, but he's not quick enough. "The people at the program were supposed to be safe…the last thing we wanted was for people to be reaped in a different District, away from their families, when they're there to learn…"

"Clark…" Amelia says slowly, hesitantly putting a hand on his shoulder and making him jump and tense up. "It wasn't your fault…"

"Yes it is…" Clark tells her, shaking his head at her. "I…I know I'm supposed to be mentoring Fete with Astrid but…if something happens to him, I'm going to focus on you, okay? I want you getting out of that arena alive. I want you to be able to keep going back to school in Three and get your degree and live life and just _be happy_."

Amelia is stunned into silence at this, feeling tears welling up in her eyes right away from how much he cares about her, even though he has no real reason to care. She's done nothing for him before to earn his care.

"Well say something," Clark says, nervously looking at her before turning back to staring at Bjark.

"I don't know what to say," Amelia answers him honestly. "Except thank you…"

"I – can I help you?" Clark says suddenly, the sass he became well known for in his Games finding its way into his voice as he turns to face the two tributes standing in front of them.

Elias is standing there awkwardly, staring at Clark with wide, unblinking eyes and seemingly ignoring Clark's sass. Standing partially behind him is Genesis, looking a bit more uncomfortable about approaching Amelia and Clark, but like she's been doing all evening, she has refused to leave his side after what he said in his interview. "May I pet your dog, please?"

"That's it?" Clark asks and Elias nods his head, looking very hopeful at the idea of petting Bjark. "Knock yourself out," Clark says and Elias looks confused by this for a moment before Clark gestures down to Bjark, "Go ahead." Elias immediately sits down on the ground next to the large dog and he's immediately sat on, much to his delight. He hugs Bjark and the big dog's tongue lolls out, and even Amelia finds herself smiling a bit at the sight of this boy who can earn an eight in training completely melt from petting a dog.

"I have never pet a dog before," Elias says quietly, looking like he might tear up at the dog in his lap.

Amelia and Clark share a look at this, reminded of his interview and the mention of abuse by his parents. What kind of terrible childhood did Elias have? Clark looks at the door inside for a moment, before turning back to Elias and trying his best to smile at him. "Astrid can handle talking to sponsors for a bit… Go ahead and pet him as much as you want."

Elias looks up at Clark with a smile more like a grimace on his face as tears start to fall down his cheeks. "Thank you," he says, becoming a blubbering mess as he hugs Bjark.

Genesis looks at Clark, trying to smile at him. "Thanks for this…"

Someone clears their throat and they look over to find someone familiar to Amelia. "Excuse me…Amelia? Can you come with me? And hi Clark."

Amelia nods at Rosabella and stands up to follow the Capitolite, but pauses to look back at Clark. "Clark…thank you."

Clark nods at her, blinking a few times before turning away from her. "You're welcome," Clark mumbles, voice shaking as he avoids her gaze.

Amelia turns back to Rosabella, finding the Council Member smiling sadly at the two of them. "This way," she says softly before leading the way back into the mansion. She starts heading into the crowd of people and Rosabella looks back over her shoulder to address Amelia. "We need to get Cal as well."

"Okay," Amelia answers, knowing she doesn't have a say in this if she's being brought somewhere by someone on the President's Council. And if Cal is joining them, well…there's only one thing they could be talking about.

As they make their way through the crowd, they pass Sky and her old mentor, with Fonio keeping a hand gripped on her shoulder to prevent her from running off. She looks very angry – well, angrier than usual – at getting forced to talk to sponsors.

Somewhere in the midst of the crowd, Rosabella slows near Cal and Arthur as they talk to some sponsors, Cal leading the conversation with Arthur occasionally giving some input. Rosabella waits a moment for Cal to notice them standing there. He nods politely at Rosabella in greeting while Arthur gives a hesitant look at the Capitolite. "Hello, sorry for the interruption, but can you come with us?"

"Sure," Cal tells hers and Arthur clears his throat, making all of them look at him.

"Both of us?" Arthur asks, looking a little distrustful of following some random Capitolite somewhere, even if Rosabella isn't random to Amelia and Cal.

"Just Cal, sorry," Rosabella tells him, giving him an apologetic smile that he doesn't return.

Cal shrugs at Arthur, "This shouldn't be long. Just keep talking to sponsors. Tell them about your survival stuff."

Arthur looks very unhappy about this, but doesn't have time to argue this as Rosabella starts leading Amelia and Cal away from him. "We won't keep you long," Rosabella tells them over her shoulder as she leads them out of the main ballroom and into a much quieter hallway.

"Who is we?" Cal asks her curiously, not sounding quite happy about being taken away from his attempt to win over sponsors.

But they get their answer before Rosabella can say anything, bringing them to a stop in front of a door with members of the Presidential Guard on either side. "Of course," Amelia says quietly to herself as the guards open the doors and Rosabella leads them into the office of the President, with the other members of the Council standing behind him.

President Xavier smiles pleasantly at the two of them as he stands up, gesturing to the seats across from him. "Welcome, Amelia and Cal. Please, take a seat."

"Hello Mr. President," Amelia says politely as she takes one of the spots and Cal nods his head cordially in greeting. She tries to return his pleasant smile, but it's hard after everything that is happening with these Games and her conversation with Clark. She just feels so overwhelmed by it all and knows she will probably get back to her room later and just cry from everything.

"Would you like some tea?" President Xavier offers them and they both nod their heads at this, much to his delight. He glances over at Theodosius as someone comes over to serve Amelia and Cal tea. "See? There are people that agree to have tea."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Theodosius grumbles, looking disappointed as if he just lost a bet or something. Amelia takes a sip of her tea and cringes for a moment before dumping a ton of sugar in it and gently stirring the tiny silver spoon. "Can we talk to them already? We still have others to talk to and I'm really looking forward to hearing more about Elias' family," Theodosius cracks his knuckles at this and Amelia leans back in her chair, staring up at him with wide eyes of terror. He notices her reaction and starts laughing, relaxing his hands right away. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. Only people that abuse their children are in trouble."

Amelia nods her head at this, but she isn't quite sure she believes the intimidating man. But she turns back to the President as he nods his head in agreement. "Yes, indeed. But that does not affect you two. You're here right now because, well…you're not supposed to be here right now."

A tense silence falls on the group as they all look around at each other. This information was something they were told on the orientation. Yet something went wrong and they have ended up here, in the worst place for Amelia.

"We meant our promise," Rosabella speaks up, not surprising Amelia given how heavily involved she was with the universities. "We did not do this to you. And we have heavily questioned Rosalina and she did not rig your names in."

"Then who did it?" Cal asks them, the question Amelia has been waiting to ask since the Reaping. She didn't want to believe that the Capitol did this, after they offered this program. But she didn't know who else to blame.

The President and the Council members share a look at this before President Xavier turns back to them and folds his hands on his desk in front of him. "There are…certain people who wish to see the Games end… And they don't go about it in a civil way."

Amelia's eyes widen in fear at this knowledge. "We're caught in the middle of a rebellion?" She whispers to them, afraid of even speaking the words allowed.

"Now, now, you're not in the _middle_ of it," President Xavier says quickly, but his response doesn't make her feel too reassured. "Just…bystanders that got involved in their plans. We think they targeted you two specifically out of the university students given your family histories. Up until now they have mostly focused on us in the Capitol and the Gamemakers, trying to sabotage the Games from there…"

"But we're stopping those bastards," Theodosius speaks up when President Xavier falls quiet and Amelia just turns her bewildered gaze towards the intimidating man. "You're not going to be caught up in their plans anymore."

"He's right," President Xavier agrees with him. "We're doing our very best to make sure there is no rebel influence in these Games, especially with you two. But…unfortunately I must be fair and I cannot give you two any advantage aside from making sure you have no disadvantages…"

"Thank you, sir," Cal speaks up for the first time in a while and Amelia glances over to look at his face, finding him sitting there with a similar look of bewilderment.

"Yes, thank you," Amelia adds, turning back to the President, feeling as if she must give some acknowledgement. Part of her is a little disappointed because a small part of her had been hoping that there would be some favoritism towards her, something to give her a slight edge over the others. But of course the President can't do that. The other Districts would be enraged if they knew the President himself was hand picking who to give special treatment to in the Games. Amelia would have felt that way if someone had a Capitol advantage last year over Aero…

No, she's going to have to do this all on her own. Screw those rebels for rigging her in when she was finally starting to pick herself back up. She is not going to let them take away her life. Maybe it's a selfish reason to fight, just to prove to them that they shouldn't have picked her. But it's not completely selfish. She has Clark rooting for her too…and she doesn't want to upset him.

"I understand, sir," Amelia tells the President, getting a happy smile from him. "I understand completely."

* * *

 **Here we go, the first part of the party! Also known as the chapter where everyone talks to the President lol. I knew this chapter was going to end up being long lol, and I added the Seraphim section at the beginning to not use up part of the tribute POVs to introduce everyone. Also, of course, because I love my son and wanted to throw in some stuff with him XD**

 **So thoughts on part one? Anything in the victor section surprise you? Will Delta and Anastacia be successful at convincing Bell that Major is a cold hearted snake or will she side with Odyssey? Will Delta destroy Holly? Will Amelia be able to get herself together for the start of the Games? And who wouldn't want to give some pets to a very good doggo?**

 **Next up we'll check in with Sky and Odyssey for the next part of the party! And I am very excited because I have planned out what happens in this part of the party a long time ago lol. We'll still continue to see hints of all of the tributes throughout each chapter.**

 **Also keep an eye out on my random story blog! I'll probably be posting a few party related things on there, including some deleted scenes from non-tributes.**

 **See you all soo- wait have I mentioned Legacy yet on this story? Idk if I have lol XD Well anyways, also check out Legacy, my new partial SYOT that I have started up! We'll see a lot of familiar faces and also a few new ones so I hope you check it out! :)**


	28. Party Part 2: Right Here, Right Now

**Chapter 24:**

 _Sky Odum, 13, District Nine_

Sky has never seen so much stupidity in her life as she has at this party, and she grew up with Marek Hall. How can the other tributes just so willingly participate in this frivolous event celebrating the fact that by this time tomorrow, some of them are going to be dead?

Maybe the reason she's so miserable here is the stupid thoughts that keep invading her head about what this party would have been like if Marek would have won and she attended the party with him… Which is stupid to think about. Why would he have brought her to this party? He probably would have brought Carolina with him, just like he asked his parents to adopt her over Sky.

"This is stupid," Sky grumbles for the fiftieth time this hour as Fonio keeps a tight hold on her shoulder, doing his damn best to keep her in check this evening. "People are dying tomorrow and all they care about is this? Looking like clowns and cheering on a death match?"

"Quiet," Fonio tells her, fake grin still on his old ass face as he leads her away from some Capitolites that overheard her. Sky doesn't know how Fonio was ever one of the most talked about victors with how gross he looks now. It's disgusting. Almost as disgusting as these people that keep trying to talk to her about Marek and tell her how they supported him last year or some bullshit.

"Don't tell me to be quiet," Sky says in a huff to him, crossing her arms as he stops her next to the wall. She wishes they didn't force them into this party. Why let them have fun and try to forget the fact that all but one of them is going to be dead in a matter of weeks?

"I can and I will," Fonio sasses her back, crossing his arms as he looks down at her. "Because I'm your mentor and I'm trying to help you out, yet you keep doing everything I tell you not to do."

"Because what you tell me to do is stupid," Sky tells him, scowling a bit at the suggestions he's made. "I'm not pretending to these assholes that I'm happy to be here. And I sure as _hell_ will not lie to them about Marek."

Fonio sighs loudly and leans up against the wall next to her as the music stops. He pinches the bridge of his nose as he shakes his head at her. "Why did I agree to mentor this year?" Fonio mutters to himself as a woman heads out onto the stage and taps the microphone to get everyone's attention.

"Hellooooo everybody!" Kora Flickerman tells the crowd and people cheer in response to her, only making Sky scowl even more. "We all hope you have been having fun so far! Now we'll get back to the music soon but we have a little bit of a surprise. How about a little friendly competition?"

Competition? Fuck no. No competition they could possibly suggest will be enjoyable to Sky.

"Now in the spirit of the Games, we have a little friendly competition between the tributes planned," Kora says, getting murmurs of excitement from the crowd. "Now a couple rules real quick. Keep it nice and clean fun. We're just here to have a friendly competition, not be rude to anyone."

"She's probably talking to you," Fonio whispers to Sky, making her put up a middle finger to him without looking in his direction.

"Do you just strive to be an asshole?" Sky asks him, only making the man laugh at her question and furthering her scowl. "God, I can't wait to get in the arena just to get away from you."

"So who will be the victor…" Kora says dramatically, giving a lengthy pause before winking at the crowd, "Of the karaoke battle?"

"Oh fuck," Sky mutters as the crowd of Capitolites gets excited about this. But Sky…she just wants to run far away from this party instead of being forced to sing in front of them for their amusement. But the worst thing is knowing that stupid Marek would have been so excited about this and he would have dragged her up on stage with him.

Sky shuts her eyes, hitting her head a couple times against the wall behind her, hoping the action will get these traitorous thoughts out of her head. Why does she keep thinking about him? And not in ways that make her hate him more, but ways that remind her of the good times they had before he ruined everything? She can't be feeling this way. Not with the Games starting in less than 24 hours.

"We randomly assigned tributes to a bracket so first up is…" Kora tells the crowd, once again pausing to make things unnecessarily dramatic. "Bellona versus Sky!"

"No," Sky says, immediately opening up her eyes at hearing her name called out. "No fucking way am I going up on that stage."

"I don't think you have a choice," Fonio tells her as the crowd starts searching for her as Bellona takes the stage, getting handed a microphone and looking completely comfortable up on the stage in front of the crowd.

"I'm not singing with _her_ ," Sky spits out, knowing the only way this could be worse was if she was forced to sing with Anastacia. "I hate the careers."

"Well get in line," Fonio sighs loudly at her as he starts leading her up to the stage. "Just lose this first round and then you can be done with this."

"Yeah but I don't want to lose to a career," Sky retorts, crossing her arms and trying futilely to stop Fonio from getting her on that stage.

"Well I guess you have a tough decision to make," Fonio answers sarcastically as he pushes Sky towards the stairs on the side of the stage.

Sky looks up at Bellona, finding the career smugly looking down at her, and with that, Sky storms onto the stage, ready to beat this career. She rips the microphone out of the band singer's hand that is offered to her and glares over at Bellona. "You're going down."

"Whatever you say," Bellona answers with a confident laugh, only making Sky grow angrier at the career. She gestures to list of songs being offered by the band as a group of people, including some of the tributes, starts to gather in front of the stage. "If you think you can win, well, be my guest and pick the song."

Sky skims over the list, not recognizing some of the songs because there isn't much opportunity to listen to music when you're living on the streets, but there is one song she recognizes… One song Marek always disliked because there are two versions, one 'too mean' for him. But it's exactly that reason she wants to sing it now. "That one," Sky says, pointing at the list for the band to know.

"Alright then," Bellona says with a casual shrug. "But hate to break it to you, but District Two is also winning this competition."

The crowd 'ooos' at these fighting words and Odyssey calls out from in front, cheering on his partner as the music starts playing. "Woo, go Bell!"

Bellona grins at his cheers, only making Sky's scowl deepen as her thoughts turn to Marek again and how he would have been up front cheering for her, making her forget to even sing along to the song as the first verse starts, giving Bellona an advantage already. Both of these things make Sky angrier as they reach the first chorus, and she screams the lyrics to the song, directing it at both the careers and Marek. "And I'm like, fuck you!" Sky screams, sticking a middle finger at Bellona, not even making the career lose her focus at all on singing the song.

Sky keeps singing angrily along to the song and somewhere in the second chorus they shut off her mic, only making her scream "Fuck you!" even louder. But at the bridge of the song, Sky starts stumbling over the words, unable to sing along, the words just hitting too close and tearing open the wound in her chest that she has barely kept close from Marek's death. She can't even sing the line, knowing it's true… "I still lo-"

Sky shuts down at that, staying silent for the remainder of the song, doing her best to keep from breaking down on the stage in front of everyone. Yet Bellona keeps singing the song, doing her best to perform well and the crowd cheers her on, just like they did for the careers last year, cheering them on when they killed Marek…

The song ends and Sky drops the microphone to the ground, before storming off the stage and not even waiting for Kora to come on stage. "Alright, so we'll let BTR decide the winners of the remaining rounds, but the winner of this round is Bellona, with Sky being disqualified for not following the rules."

The crowd cheers Bellona on as Sky storms off, finding her mentor following after her as she tries to get far away from the stage. "Sky," Fonio calls after her and she picks up her pace, hoping the old hag won't be able to keep up with her. "Sky!" Fonio says as he grabs onto her shoulder, forcing her to turn around and face him.

"What?" Sky screams at him, barely holding in her tears at this point. She barely hears the lead singer, Elliot or Elias or whatever his name is, bring up Delta and Atropa for the next round.

Fonio stares at her face in surprise for a moment before his face hardens and he puts both hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look at her. "You need to cut this shit out now. You need to actually listen to me and what I'm telling you to do because news flash, I know what I'm doing and have the best track record of the victors in Nine in bringing home tributes. _I have reasons for what I tell you._ "

Sky glares up at him as the song starts playing, and she listens to Atropa sing it while Delta just speaks the words, sounding so displeased by this. _"You are…my fire. The one…desire."_

At the song, the tears finally start falling as she has a dumb memory fill her head of Marek first hearing this song and _stupidly_ singing along to it in front of her, making her laugh and think he was singing those words about her.

"Look, Sky," Fonio sighs when he sees the tears on her face and she holds back a sob. "I know you are hurt, but you need to calm down with how you're acting here in the Capitol. You're making people unhappy with you and-"

"I don't care, I don't want them happy with me," Sky interrupts him, trying to wipe away the dumb tears falling down her cheeks.

"Yes you do," Fonio firmly tells her and she starts frowning at him. "Make the right people unhappy and you're done. Do you understand what that means?"

"Game over," Sky whispers to him and he nods his head.

"Yes, game over. You're dead if the right people don't want you to win." Fonio pauses to let these words sink in. "So cut this bullshit while you're in the Capitol. Play their stupid games. And _please_ stop screaming 'fuck you' at people."

"But they deserve it-"

"No," Fonio interrupts firmly. "I don't care if they deserve it or not. You stop that now or you'll sign your death sentence before even reaching the arena. Understand?" Sky really doesn't want to agree with him, but at that moment, she just feels…defeated by it all and the anger is dissipating, leaving her feeling hollow inside. So she nods her head at him and he pats her shoulder. "Good. Now we're going to sit on the side of the room and we're going to just watch them play their games and you're not going to say anything about it or Marek or the careers."

Sky begrudgingly lets Fonio lead her to some seats nearby and he gives the two Capitolites – who look as if they're doing a terrible job hiding their age – sitting there are flirty smile that makes Sky want to vomit, but the Capitolites fawn over. "Would you mind letting us two sit in these chairs?"

"Oh of course," one of them says right away as they stand up.

The other follows suit, stepping closer to Fonio and gently putting a hand on his arm. "Anything for you."

"Thank you," Fonio grins at them as they leave, leaning close to each other and giggling as they glance back at him.

"You're fucking disgusting," Sky tells him as she throws herself down into the seat, still feeling like she might vomit a little.

Fonio just shrugs at this as he takes his seat as the song finishes. "You use what you can to get what you want."

"Still disgusting," Sky mutters, watching the stage as the lead singer has the band vote on this round's winner. In a 4-1 vote, Atropa wins and Delta doesn't look upset about this at all.

As much as she doesn't want to listen to Fonio, she stays in her seat, feeling number and not having energy to stay mad at the crowd. So she watches the karaoke battle, not knowing what else to do.

"Okay next up is Fox versus Major!"

The boy from One happily takes the stage as the District Two pair cheers him on. Fox follows after him, chuckling nervously as he looks over at the career. "I'll admit, I only know baby songs…"

"Well I'll pick then!" Major cheerfully says, laughing a little as he looks over the list.

It doesn't take long for him to settle on a song and when the band starts, Major busts out a full dance routine to the song, leaving Fox with no chance of winning based on how the crowd cheers for the career. _"He's a cold hearted snake, look into his eyes."_

Fox tries his best with the song, but Major is just blowing him out of the water with his performance, much to Sky's dismay. The band unanimously votes for Major to be the winner, and Fox shrugs and smiles at this, still being polite in defeat. "A well-earned win," Fox tells Major, making the career look even more smug about the victory as they head off the stage and Major joins his allies and Fox heads off to find Adam.

"Next tier! First is Bellona versus Eliot!"

Sky scowls at the career that beat her, but stays quiet, unlike her allies whooping and cheering her on as she takes the stage confidently once more. Sky's District partner runs up with that typical energy he has, bouncing a bit on his toes as he grins at his two allies that are doing their best to cheer him on compared to the careers next to them. Eliot lets Bellona pick the song, which turns out to be his mistake, because while he has a fun time singing along, he doesn't have the performance energy that Bellona has. But it might also be the fact that the thirteen year old can't really sing well asking _"What is love?"_

But the vote is closer this time from the band, a three to two victory in Bellona's favor. Eliot doesn't seem to care at all as he leaves the stage, going back to talking to Jessamine.

"Next is Eva versus Arthur!"

Eva takes the stage, picking out a song before a skeptical looking Arthur even gets up there. Eva puts her best effort in, while Arthur does the bare minimum of singing, growing increasingly more uncomfortable with the Capitolites cheering them on as the song progresses. But Eva makes up for this as she sings, _"Do you believe in life after love?"_

Again, it's a four to one victory for Eva, with the long haired member being the one to give a pity vote again for the obvious loser.

"And how about we get Amelia versus Atropa up here?"

Sky is almost certain that the girl from Three will lose the round after seeing how broken she has been this whole time. But she takes the stage with a new stubbornness in her and Atropa stares at her for a moment before letting Amelia pick out the song. The crowd groans at the first few beats of the music, only making Amelia start laughing a little bit, seemingly surprising herself. _"We're no strangers to love,"_ Amelia starts singing, a little nervous at first, but with Courtney cheering her on in the front of the stage, she grows more confident throughout the song, outshining Atropa.

Amelia wins three to two and she's smiling as she leaves the stage, and Atropa just shrugs at the loss as she joins her District partner again, doing her best to keep him awake and looking peppy.

"And last up in this round is Major versus Courtney!"

Major returns to the stage with confidence and Courtney joins him, looking awed once more to be up on that stage again with BTR. "Go ahead, pick the song," Major tells her, standing back and looking smug about his shot at victory. Courtney, unsurprisingly, picks a song by the band, and they both go hard as they sing along to the song. _"Any kind of guy you want girl, that's the guy I'll be,"_ the two sing along, Courtney having the time of her life and Major still trying to do choreography to the song.

It takes the band a minute to decide on the winner, and eventually in a three to two vote, they choose Courtney. Major keeps the smile on his face as he leaves the stage, but Sky can see the raging anger in his eyes as he ignores his allies and heads over to the bathroom. Meanwhile, Courtney is just absolutely thrilled at the band picking her as the winner.

"Alright we have four tributes left in this round. Let's see who will make it to the semi-final with Bellona versus Eva!"

The two take the stage with different levels of confidence, and a close round starts once more. Bellona goes to pick the song and Eva makes a comment about her just thinking she can choose, so Bellona steps back and gestures to the list, letting Eva choose. _"My loneliness is killing me…"_ Bellona sings dramatically at the chorus, and it's clear from there that she's going to beat Eva.

"I think they're biased towards her," Sky mutters and Fonio lets out a noise of agreement as Bellona wins in a three to two vote.

"Now for a fight between two allies, Amelia versus Courtney!"

Courtney lets Amelia pick the song and they both look like they're having a fun time as they sing a song together saying thanks for the memories. Courtney gets Amelia to be laughing as they sing, sometimes fumbling over the words but not looking too bothered by it. But yet, the band still picks Courtney as the winner in a three to two vote, and Amelia gives her ally a pat on her shoulder, not looking too upset at losing.

"Okay Courtney you might as well stay up on this stage and Bellona, get back up here because it is time for the semi-final!"

The crowd cheers as the two girls get ready to sing against each other and Courtney lets Bellona pick out the song. Both have their allies cheering them on from in front of the stage and they both give it their all as they sing, _"The love shack is a little ol' place where we can get away!"_

The lead singer steps up after they finish, looking torn between the two girls. "Okay I think we need to have the audience help us vote for who will go on to the final round. So cheer loudly if you want Courtney!" A good amount of noise is made for Courtney and the singer nods his head at this. "Alright, alright, good show. And now cheer if you want Bellona!" The cheers are much louder for the career and the winner is clear. "Okay moving on to the final round is…Bellona!"

Odyssey whoops at Bellona winning and the two girls leave the stage. The singer stays up front, getting ready to move on. "Alright we're going to take a short break and then we will start the next half!"

* * *

 _Odyssey Gunderson, 18, District Two_

Odyssey knows he should be thinking ahead about the Games starting tomorrow, but why not focus on the now and having fun at this party? Why can' he just have a good time and also be prepared for the Games tomorrow? That's at least what he's told Kat, who begrudgingly agreed with him before telling him to at least make sure that he made a lasting impression with the sponsors.

But she has no reason to worry about that. He made a lasting impression as Venus and interviewing as his drag persona has made sure the Capitol remembers him. And now he's going to win this karaoke battle and prove to everyone he can become the victor _twice_.

"You better get ready to lose, Bell," Odyssey jokes with Bell as they wait for the second round of the karaoke battle to start up.

"You have a long way to go," Bell teases him, laughing as she shakes her head. "We'll see if you're just as good of a performer when you're out of drag."

"Hey you're the one that calls me a queen all the time," Odyssey jokes back with a wink, making her laugh a bit, but it's a bit forced compared to before.

"Hey Bell!"

They turn at Glacia calling Bell and the victor waves her over. Bell sighs as she looks back at Odyssey, giving him an apologetic smile. "I better not keep her waiting. But good luck on that stage. Make sure to slay."

"Oh I will!" Odyssey calls after her, grinning at her reaction of shaking her head at him. The grin is still on his face as he looks around at the tributes nearby, waiting for their turn at karaoke. He finds one of the younger ones looking nervous as he stands there waiting, and Odyssey walks over to him, tucking his hands into his pockets. "Hey dude, no need to look so nervous about performing."

Davy lets out a noise of surprise at Odyssey talking to him and his cheeks start heating up in embarrassment as he looks away from the career. "I'm uh…not nervous about that – I mean I am, but…"

"Hey, I'll let you in on a secret," Odyssey says as he gently bumps Davy's arm, making the boy flinch as he looks back up at him. "Even I still get a little nervous about performing."

"Really?" Davy asks in surprise, still looking a little shocked by Odyssey actually talking to him.

"Yep," Odyssey nods his head, giving Davy an encouraging smile. "You just have to get up on that stage and do your best to pretend the crowd isn't there."

"But I can't…" Davy says and sighs as he looks away from Odyssey. Odyssey follows his gaze over to where his mentor stands with her youngest son. "Not with who is here…"

"Ah," Odyssey says, putting it together when he sees Davy flush at the boy looking over and smiling at him. "Well, dude, sometimes when you have feelings for someone, you just need to go up to them and say 'Hey, I like you' and take that chance."

"No, no, I can't do that… Have you done that?" Davy asks him, looking up at him hopefully. "Did it work?"

"Did I do that? No, I haven't. I, uh…haven't told anyone…" Odyssey trails off as he also looks around the room, his gaze landing on one of the younger victors present, talking to the boy he brought with him, someone Odyssey knows from Pride. Yet as he looks at them, standing there together, a weird feeling he's not used to slowly bubbles up in his stomach. Is that…jealousy?

He quickly turns back to Davy, not wanting to think too much on these feelings rising up. He pats Davy on the shoulder and gives him a reassuring smile. "You'll do fine, I promise. I'll cheer you on in the crowd."

"Alright tributes, let's get this show going again!" Elias Galante tells the crowd as the band comes back out on the stage.

"You got this," Odyssey tells Davy, giving him another encouraging smile that Davy tries his best to return, before Odyssey heads over towards the other careers gathered by the stage. He looks around at the group, not finding Bell or Major with them, but he quickly finds Bell still talking to Glacia. "Where's Major?"

"Who knows?" Anastacia responds, not sounding too concerned about where her District partner is right now.

Odyssey shrugs in return and brings his attention back to the stage and Elias. "Okay everyone, let's get started with the next round. First up is the dude who has the best name, Elias, versus Anastacia."

"You got this!" Odyssey tells Anastacia as she doesn't look too sure about that as she heads out onto the stage. Elias joins her, looking very unsure about this whole thing.

"I don't sing…" Anastacia says sadly as she looks at the lead singer of BTR before turning to Elias. "Just pick a song."

"Uh…" Elias looks confused about the list and Odyssey feels bad for the guy. "That one," he says, just pointing at a song on the list.

Anastacia shakes her head at the choice, taking the microphone. The band waits for them to start and when it's clear Elias won't start singing, Anastacia starts the song. _"Somebody once-"_

The crowd quickly joins in singing along to the song, Odyssey included, laughing a bit as Bell joins them again and they dance along. With the crowd singing, it covers up Anastacia struggling to keep pitch and Elias standing there with wide eyes, fumbling over the words and clearly not knowing the song at all.

When the song ends, Odyssey cheers on Anastacia, just like he did with Bell and Major when they were up. "Go Anastacia!"

"Alright good crowd participation," Elias the singer says to them. "And the winner is Anastacia!"

"Woo!" Odyssey cheers as his ally leaves the stage.

"Next up is Odyssey versus Adam!"

Odyssey is grinning as he takes the stage, getting that exhileration he always gets before a performance.

"Yeah Odyssey!" Bell cheers up at him as he takes the microphone, only making him grin even more.

Adam is much slower to get up onto the stage and Odyssey feels bad for the poor guy. "Go ahead and pick the song," Adam says quietly to him as he is handed his microphone. "You're the one who knows what you're doing."

"You sure?" Odyssey asks him, getting a nod from Adam. "Alright then, let's see…" Odyssey skims over the list of remaining songs, grinning when he sees one of the songs he loves to perform to as Venus. "That one."

The music starts and Odyssey lets himself get into that place for his performances, grinning out at the crowd cheering as he starts singing, even incorporating some of his dance moves into it – thanks Major, for that idea. _"I want your love and I want you revenge-"_ Odyssey nearly stumbles over the words he knows by heart as he looks out at the crowd and finds Misha has moved closer to the stage and he's looking right at Odyssey. For the rest of the song, Odyssey avoids looking at the crowd, not sure what to do about the bundle of nerves in his stomach, and focusing on getting Adam to sing the song with him and try not to just stand there. The boy from Seven does his best, but Odyssey doesn't push him too much, just enough to get him to at least make a bit of an impression with the crowd.

But when the song is over and the band votes Odyssey the winner in a four to one vote, it's not quite a surprise to anyone watching. "Hey, you did a good job," Odyssey tells Adam as they walk off the stage, even offering to help him get down the few stairs.

"You don't have to lie to me…" Adam says quietly, looking upset about his performance.

"I'm not," Odyssey tries to reassure him, but he can tell it's not working. So he sighs as he lets go of Adam's arm and lets him go over to his ally. When Odyssey turns to head back to his allies, he has a smile back on his face as he greets them, letting the thrill of the performance fill him.

"Nice job," Bell tells him right away, giving him a pat on the shoulder.

"Thanks," he says with a big grin at her, and she quickly looks away from him.

"Next up we have Demarcus versus Fete!"

"You got this," Odyssey tells his ally, seeing instantly the way his face is filled with terror at going up on the stage. His ally tries his best to put on a brave face for the performance, but Odyssey can tell his anxiety is kicking into high gear.

"Come on, feet boy!" Atropa shouts at Fete as he takes the stage, looking fired up as he takes the microphone and holds it too close to his mouth. Demarcus defers to Fete to pick the song and Fete makes his choice.

Fete has more energy than Odyssey has seen in him yet, only making Demarcus' nervousness even more prominent as they start singing. Fete gets really into it, thoroughly enjoying singing the line, _"What a shame the poor groom's bride is a whore."_ Demarcus keeps trying, but halfway through he starts stuttering over the words. "Go Demarcus!" Odyssey shouts, trying to give his ally a little confidence boost, but it's too late. When the song ends, the band votes four to one in Fete's favor and Demarcus quickly leaves the stage, heading away from their group.

"Should we go after him?" Delta asks them, not really sounding like she's volunteering.

"I can go," Odyssey offers, but Bell shakes his head at him.

"You can't, you'll be up again soon," Bell tells him, making him pout a little.

But before any of them can head over, Major approaches Demarcus, putting a hand on his arm comfortingly as he leads him off to the side. "Oh good," Odyssey comments, getting a 'hmph' from Anastacia.

"We'll be starting the next round with Calvin versus Anastacia!"

They cheer on their ally once more, but she still does not look very confident as she takes the stage once more. Meanwhile, Calvin looks like he's on a mission to win this competition. The song chosen is one Odyssey recognizes from his drag performances, and he has fun cheering them on. And he'll admit, it's amusing to see serious Calvin and Anastacia singing, _"It's raining men, hallelujah."_ But Anastacia doesn't do as well as Calvin, and she knows this when the song ends and she's frowning.

Calvin wins in a three to two vote, though, and Odyssey smiles at Anastacia when she returns. "Hey at least you made it to the second round!"

"Yeah, you got as far as Major," Bell adds on.

"Would have been better if I beat him," Anastacia mutters to himself as the next pair is announced.

"Next is Davy versus Carameuse!"

Davy is nervous as he takes the stage, but Odyssey cheers him on, making him form a small smile. But at least he's not nearly as nervous as Carameuse is as she stands far back on the stage and away from their group, leaving Davy to pick the song. "Uhh… Mr. Brightside? I guess?" Odyssey keeps cheering on the boy as he sings, barely being joined by Carameuse. And when he wins four to one, Odyssey is proud of the kid.

"Next we have Genesis versus Odyssey!"

"Here we go!" Odyssey says to his allies as he takes the stage once more. Genesis doesn't look as bad as Adam did on the stage, but she seems to already look defeated. "You can choose the song," Odyssey tells her, wanting to at least give her a small chance.

"Okay," Genesis answers, quickly looking away from Odyssey and picking another song he is familiar with from performing. Odyssey tries again to help Genesis sing, like he did with Adam, but she clearly doesn't want anything to do with him. So he sings _'I Will Survive'_ on his own, playing up the crowd again.

So when the band votes him the winner four to one, it's not a big surprise. He is the performer, after all. "Good try," Odyssey says to her genuinely, but Genesis doesn't respond to him, choosing to head off the stage quickly and stay away from him. He shrugs at this, having had years of dealing with people criticizing him to let one person reacting to him now disappoint him.

"And he keeps on winning," Bell tells him as he joins them again.

Odyssey chuckles at her, "Well I did tell you to get ready to lose."

"Not a chance," Bell responds.

"Next up is Fete versus Jessamine."

The crowd is awkward as Fete and Jessamine take the stage. "Are they really making her do this?" Anastacia asks them and Odyssey just shrugs.

But Jessamine wants to pick out the song and when Fete sees it, he gives her an exasperated look. "Seriously? _'Despacito'_? It's in Spanish!" But Jessamine seems insistent on this so Fete sighs, putting on a determined face and getting ready to do his best. "Fine, but if I lose because it's Spanish, I'm calling for a revote." When the song starts though, Fete has nothing to worry about as Jessamine obviously makes no attempt to sing, but rather just dances near one of the speakers, leaving Fete to struggle with the Spanish song.

One of the members of the band at least gives Jessamine a vote so she doesn't lose completely, and she smiles as she heads back to her allies.

"Alright, time to decide who will be in the semi-final with Calvin versus Davy!"

"Yeah Davy!" Odyssey cheers for him again, but the younger boy is clearly less confident this time as he goes up against a much older tribute.

Davy lets Calvin pick the song and even with Odyssey cheering him on, Davy struggles with being up on the stage and singing the song. He tries his best, but Calvin is just much better than him at singing _'Counting Stars'_ , but at least Davy is trying.

The band gives Davy two votes, making him at least a bit more confident, but not by much since he did still lose. Odyssey gives the boy a thumbs up as he walks past, which he just returns with a sad smile.

"And next up Odyssey versus Fete!"

Odyssey takes the stage once more and Fete gives him a bored look as he joins him, no longer looking ready to go with these songs. "Go ahead and pick," Fete says with a wave and fighting off a yawn. "Obviously you're going to win."

"Well you can still try," Odyssey tries to tell him but Fete just gives him a deadpan look. "Okay, okay, how about a dramatic rendition?"

The crowd laughs at the penny whistle opening of the song and Odyssey fights off the smile, wanting to give a truly dramatic rendition of this song. He turns around, facing the back of the stage, waiting for the words to start to turn around and face the crowd, _"Every night in my dreams… I see you, I feeeeelll youuuu."_

Fete has absolutely no chance of winning against Odyssey with this song and he kind of just stands back, arms crossed as he feebly tries to sing along. Odyssey wins in a unanimous vote, making him start grinning as he stays up on the stage for the semi-final.

"Alright Calvin, get back up here for the semi-final!"

Calvin joins Odyssey on stage, looking absolutely determined to beat him, and Odyssey knows this might be the first round where Odyssey actually has to try to win. "I'm picking the song," Calvin tells Odyssey, who holds up his hands and gestures at the boy from Three.

"Go for it," Odyssey tells him, still feeling confident that he can win this round. After all, this is what he wants to do for a living. Well, maybe not sing karaoke battles, but performing songs. Calvin chooses a challenging song, but Odyssey is ready for it. He has to win so he can go against Bell in the final round. "Bohemian Rhapsody, bold choice," he tells Calvin, but the boy doesn't acknowledge him, just waiting for them to start singing.

And Calvin gives his best shot, so Odyssey does the same, adding that bit of performer flair that Calvin is lacking. The boy may have determination, but he isn't a performer, just standing in the same spot and not working the crowd at all.

"Okay, it's time to let the audience decide," Elias Galante says when the song ends, and Odyssey is pretty sure he'll win, but there's still that possibility. "Cheer if you think Calvin is the winner." The crowd gives a good response to Calvin, making Odyssey a little nervous that he might actually win. "Now cheer if you think Odyssey is the winner."

There's no question when the crowd cheers that Odyssey is the winner. He's grinning as they quiet down and he looks down at Bell, "Told you."

"You still got one more round to win," Bell tells him as she comes back up on the stage, making the crowd cheer at her fighting words. But Odyssey knows it's all in good fun, based on the smile on her face.

"Here's to a Two victory," Odyssey tells her, holding out his hand to her.

"Just like in the Games," Bell says as she shakes his hand, making the crowd cheer for their unity as a team, even when they're about to go up against each other.

"Okay," Elias says, getting the crowd to quiet down. "Now for the finale, we have a little twist. You must choose from a duet to sing."

Odyssey gestures to Bell, "Ladies choice."

"That confident in your performance abilities?" Bell teases him as she takes the list of songs.

"You know it," Odyssey answers back, winking at the crowd at this. "So, what will it be, Bell?"

"Hmm," Bell says as she skims over the list before handing it back to Elias. "How about _'Right Here, Right Now'_?"

It's an interesting choice, but Odyssey doesn't comment on that. "Alright, don't be too upset when you lose."

"Are you telling that to me or are you preparing yourself?" Bell jokes, making the crowd 'ooh' at her fighting words.

"All for you, Bell," Odyssey jokes back, trying to get himself ready to sing because he knows Bell is going to go all out.

Odyssey starts the first verse, looking over at Bell who patiently waits for her turn to sing, smiling at him and looking like she's blushing a little. Odyssey gives her a confused look as he reaches the chorus, and he turns away from her to avoid…whatever that look is. Yet his gaze finds the one person in the crowd that he wants to also avoid thinking about as he sings. _"Right here…right now. I'm looking at you, and my heart loves the view…"_

Odyssey quickly looks away from Misha after that line, feeling his face flushing as he turns back to Bell and tries to just quickly finish the chorus without fumbling at all. God…what is happening to him? He's never like this…

He's a damn fool in denial.

Odyssey tries to focus on Bell as she starts singing her part of the song, but his thoughts and gaze keep glancing out at the crowd, finding Misha standing out there and looking right at him. Bell is giving the performance her all, just like Odyssey expected her to. She's singing just like he would at a show, and he wonders if she has been watching him so she can use his own moves against him.

He joins in again at the chorus, harmonizing with her to try and give himself an edge. _"Right here, I promise that somehow…tomorrow can wait for some other day to be."_

" _But right now there's you and me,"_ Bell continues, and Odyssey's thoughts go where he's tried to avoid all this time as he keeps singing the song, listening to the lyrics. Tomorrow has to wait…he can't go into the Games without saying something… But what a terrifying thought it is to open up about feelings he's just admitting to himself that he has.

The song finishes up before Odyssey really realizes is, caught up in his thoughts as he sings the song. The music stops and the crowd cheers for them as he stares over at Bell, unsure on what he's supposed to even be thinking right now. She stares back at him, giving him a hesitant smile that's so out of character for her, but before Odyssey has time to even think about it, Elias steps up and puts a hand on both of their shoulders. "Alright, very good performance by the tributes of District Two! But now we must somehow pick who is the victor of the karaoke battle. So, who will it be?"

He gets the crowd to cheer for each of them, but Odyssey can't tell any difference in the volume of the crowd. "I don't know…" Elias says, looking between the two of them. "Sounds like a tie to me."

Before Odyssey can say anything, Bell speaks up, "Clearly you can't hear, they were louder for Odyssey."

"Are you admitting defeat?" Odyssey asks her, completely surprised at this. He's never seen her do this before and it's…unusual that she would let him win at something so public.

"I'm saying that the performer won, not admitting defeat," Bell teases him back and Odyssey shrugs at her response. But she's still avoiding his gaze.

"Okay our victor of the first karaoke battle is Odyssey Gunderson!"

Odyssey grins as the crowd cheers for him, but he has to force the smile a bit as his thoughts are still all over the place, especially when he looks out at the crowd and no longer sees Misha anywhere. "Thank you, thank you!" Odyssey says to them, putting on a show like always as he leaves the stage, Bell right behind him.

"Hey Odyssey?" Bell asks him as he starts moving through the crowd, trying to find Misha or a victor who can tell him where he is.

"Hey, I need to do something," Odyssey says, half paying attention as he calls back over his shoulder at her. "Can it wait?"

"Sure," Bell answers and Odyssey turns and gives her a thumbs up, turning back around to focus on making his way through the crowd.

With how many victors are here tonight from Two, one would think it would be easy to find one, but of course when Odyssey needs one, he can't find them. He keeps getting stopped and congratulated by the crowd, until he finally spots Jory. "Jory!" He calls out, waving as the victor starts looking around. When Jory spots him, he quickly pushes his way through the crowd to him. "Hey, have you seen Misha anywhere?"

"Misha, huh?" Jory asks, wiggling his eyebrows at this and making Odyssey flush for reasons he's still struggling to accept. Jory taps his chin, clearly messing with Odyssey, "Hmm, I think I saw him heading out to the garden… Alone," he adds with a wink at Odyssey.

"Thank you," Odyssey says quickly and heads towards the far end of the room to the door leading outside, hoping that he'll be able to find Misha easily.

It takes forever to get out through the crowd, but soon he's met with cool fresh air. He pauses for a moment, trying to collect his thoughts. Is he…really going to do this? Is he really going to admit these feelings to Misha when he just admitted them to himself? He had tried so hard to keep himself from developing feelings for anyone before the Games, not wanting to take that risk of losing his shot at his dreams for someone else. And yet, that song keeps playing in his head… He's always been focused on right now. One step at a time.

So he needs to find Two's youngest victor right here, right now.

Odyssey sets off into the garden, looking all around to try and find Misha, almost running as he gets nervous about finding him. He nearly goes right past him, but slows to take a few steps back and do a double take at the figure sitting with his back to the path on a bench, all by himself.

"Hey."

Misha tenses up at this, but when he turns to look at Odyssey, he gives him a cute smile that has Odyssey's heart fluttering as he returns it. "Oh hey…" Misha says, patting the seat on the bench next to him.

"Everything okay?" Odyssey asks Misha as he comes over, sitting down on the bench next to Misha, but keeping a few inches of distance between them that feels so much farther.

"Yeah…" Misha answers quietly, staring straight ahead and not at Odyssey, only making him grow more nervous. "I needed some time to think."

"Yeah, me too," Odyssey says right away, making Misha look over at him and raise an eyebrow in curiosity. "So uh…I might have a new nickname for myself."

"And what is that?" Misha asks him, a hint of amusement in his voice laced with…nervousness?

"Denial boy," Odyssey tells him and before he can lose whatever little bit of courage he has right now about this, reaches out and gently tilts Misha's chin up so the victor is looking at him better. Misha's cheeks immediately start flushing at the touch and Odyssey can feel his own face heating up, but he speaks up before he loses courage. "Misha, may I kiss you?"

"Yeah," Misha says softly, so quietly that Odyssey barely hears him, but he does, making his heart start racing with all sorts of emotions from excitement to nervousness. When his nerves keep him in place, Misha leans closer to him, "Aren't you going to kiss me already?"

"Yeah," Odyssey answers quickly, internally cursing his nerves as he closes the short distance between the two of them. He presses his lips gently against Misha's, hesitating out of fear of finally giving into these feelings just for him to possibly lose them. Yet he knows what he feels is real…he's just scared of the timing.

Odyssey pulls back, whispering to Misha, "I'm nervous about doing this right before the Games."

"Don't be. You're going to get through this, I know it," Misha tells him, putting his hands on both sides of Odyssey's face and staring deep into his eyes. "They chose you for a reason."

Odyssey leans forward this time to kiss Misha, needing that bit of encouragement from him that he can do this. He can have these feelings for Misha and still win the Games. He doesn't have to keep suppressing them out of fear. Odyssey puts his arms around Misha, pulling him closer to him, and letting himself forget about the Games approaching tomorrow and just enjoying the feeling of Misha's hands in his hair, the taste of something sweet on his lips, and the warm feeling in his chest of knowing that being with Misha just feels so _right._

"Hey Odyssey? Major said you were looking for – oh."

Odyssey immediately pulls back at the hurt sound in Bell's voice and as he turns to look at her, his arms still around Misha, he can see her heart breaking on her face, and it all clicks in his head. The looks she was giving him, always joking around with him, the blushing, _the song_ …

He really is in denial about feelings in himself and towards him.

"Bell, wait!" Odyssey says as she turns to leave him, but she keeps her back turned and starts walking away from him. He turns back to Misha, full of fear and worry that he just fucked up everything for District Two this year. "I'm sorry, I have to talk to her. Kat is going to kill me before I even get to the Games."

"Go…" Misha says sadly, untangling himself from Odyssey's arms. "Just…find me if you need me."

"I will," Odyssey says in a rush as he stands up and starts running after his friend, calling her name. "Bell. Bell! Bell, wait!"

He reaches out to put a hand on her shoulder to stop her, but Bell immediately shrugs him off as she turns to face him, her eyes full of hurt as she stares up at him and crosses her arms. "Leave me alone."

"Bell, please, I didn't know," Odyssey pleads with her, trying to get his friend to realize he isn't lying. "I promise, I didn't."

"How could you be so oblivious to it?" Bell asks him, looking away from him for a moment as she stares up, blinking her eyes to keep them from watering. "God, this is why I didn't want to have feelings for you."

"I don't know, Bell…" Odyssey tells her honestly, feeling like shit that this had to happen like this, right before they're about to go into the Games. How did everything go from being so perfect to all wrong so quickly? "I really didn't know."

"So I take it you don't return the feelings?" Bell asks him, still looking away from him. When he doesn't answer immediately, she turns to him once more, her eyes icy even as tears threaten to fall from them. "Answer me!"

"I don't know! I don't like acknowledging my own feelings!" Odyssey tells her, not knowing what she wants from him.

"Didn't look like you had a hard time acknowledging them with Misha."

"Misha is…" Odyssey sighs as he starts pacing in front of Bell, wishing he could just go back and stop her from ever walking over to him then. "He's different."

"But I'm not," Bell answers emotionlessly, wrapping her arms around herself tighter in an attempt to comfort herself. "Well I won't keep you from the person who is _different_ because obviously I'm just normal and unimportant."

"Bell, I didn't say that-"

"Go…" Bell says coldly as she turns away from him. "Go to him and be happy, just like you can be with him if you win these Games."

"Bell…" Odyssey says quietly as Bell starts walking away from him, not even acknowledging him saying her name. He stares at her, watching her walk away from him with her shoulders hunched over and occasionally using her arm to wipe at her nose, making him feel worse with each passing second.

What has he done? It's all his fault… If he hadn't gone to find Misha, Bell wouldn't have seen him kissing the victor. He wouldn't have messed up their friendship hours before the Games start.

"Hey…" Misha says quietly as he approaches, but Odyssey can't bring himself to look at him yet. Misha steps up next to him, rubbing his back to try to comfort him. "It's going to be alright…"

"No it won't," Odyssey tells him, sighing heavily as he looks over at the victor. "The friendship Kat fought so hard for us to have is ruined."

"I think Bell ruined that a while ago when she developed feelings for you," Misha says quietly, wrapping his arm around Odyssey and letting him lean against him, feeling so…disappointed with himself by this. "It's better she found out now and not during the Games."

"That doesn't change the fact that I broke her heart and tomorrow we're supposed to fight together to make sure Two gets a victor…" Odyssey sighs loudly, torn for taking comfort in Misha after he just broke Bell's heart, without even knowing he was doing it. Odyssey tries to step away from Misha, feeling disgusted with himself, but Misha keeps a hold on his hand. "Misha… I don't know why you're still sticking around with me. Surely I'm just going to ruin this."

"Don't you dare say that," Misha tells him harshly, moving to stand directly in front of him, forcing Odyssey to meet his gaze. "It's her fault, not yours. She could have said something months ago, not waiting until it was too late when you were with someone else…" Misha grabs onto Odyssey's other hand, and Odyssey looks down at them, still feeling like he's ruined everything. Misha starts rubbing the backs of his hands with his thumbs, waiting until Odyssey takes a deep breath and finally looks back up at him, "Someone you can be happy with once the Games are over."

Odyssey tries to listen to his words, yet his brain keeps replaying the heartbreak in Bell's voice as she told him the same thing. It just feels…wrong to let himself be happy with Misha after what he just did, intentional or not. And right before the Games are about to start… "These Games are going to be a lot harder than I thought…"

"Odyssey, you have no idea…"

* * *

 **Alrighty we have the second part of the party, aka karaoke battle time XD Here I was thinking this chapter wouldn't be as long as part one, but it was longer lol, my bad, but I decided I wanted to have the full karaoke battle. Also I know Odyssey's POV is longer than Sky's and I am kinda just *shrug* about it. He had a lot more tribute interactions in his POV so of course his was longer compared to the angry girl with no allies. And this is something I've had planned with him for a long time lol.**

 **So yeah, there we have it! Do you think Sky is going to listen to Fonio? Are you surprised at all that Odyssey won the karaoke battle? XD And will Odyssey and Bell be able to still cooperate after this happened?**

 **We have one last party chapter with Fox and Genesis and then the night before chapter. Only two more chapters until we are at the Games already :0 it's crazy how close we are! So see you all soon!**


	29. Party Part 3: Conflicted

**Chapter 25:**

 _Genesis Barrett, 17, District Ten_

Genesis has not stopped feeling…confused and conflicted ever since the party started this evening. Just…everything she thought she knew about the Capitol is being questioned… Her father always taught her that the Capitol was evil and going to destroy them someday. But she has seen no hint of that here. There have been no hints of mutts trying to kill her. She doesn't even think whatever shot they gave her has done anything…although she can't stop rubbing that spot on her arm whenever she thinks about the Quell twist, an itch always starting that she can't get rid of.

But…would a corrupt Capitol really do what they're doing to Elias? That meeting was what made her question her whole reality… She didn't want to leave Elias alone with the President and his council, not trusting them but also terrified to face them. And Elias didn't want to go alone either, too afraid of opening up about his family out of fear of what they will do to him. Yet the President didn't once raise his voice at them or make any threats, only asking to know all the details about Elias' past and what his parents have done so he can make them face justice. Would a corrupt President really help out a tribute by bringing in his abusers?

Genesis…still doesn't know what to think about the new information she's learned about Elias. It explains so much about him. The way he knows how to fight, yet he's not excited about it in the same way as the careers. How else would he have earned that 8 in training? And the way he had to get his leg prostheses…Genesis cannot begin to imagine having parents that would do that to her…forcing her to fight over and over, repeatedly getting hurt to the point of needing surgery.

None of the other tributes are aware of the new information that she has learned and have continued going on with their night, dancing around and talking to new people. But Genesis and her ally aren't like the other tributes, leading to them sitting at the edge of the party. She's glad her ally is also overwhelmed by the party, with the huge amount of people here, the loud noise of the band playing, and just the sheer size of it all. She needed a break from it all and just to take some time to sit on the edge of the crowd. And also so she can think through everything that has happened tonight. It's…almost too much for her to handle. With everything happening, she's barely been able to even think about the Games starting tomorrow…

Which of these tributes will be dead this time tomorrow? Will _she_ be dead this time tomorrow…? The careers this year are ready for the fight, she has no doubt about it. And unfortunately for her, they seem more unified than last year, meaning she can't hope they'll self-destruct again. Just look at how Anastacia, Delta, and Bell are huddled together, looking around and probably deciding which tributes would be the easiest targets tomorrow morning. Hopefully not her…hopefully that 6 she earned is enough to make them think twice, but not think she's a threat. And then there's Demarcus, talking to his mentor and her husband, and Odyssey talking to one of the victors from Two, but occasionally looking over at the career girls and frowning. And Major is off talking to Calvin, for some reason. All of them are going to be lethal tomorrow…

But…no, she has a good ally with her. Someone who actually knows how to fight. They have their plan for the start and they'll stick to it, then watch each other's backs. She'll be fine with Elias at her side. She's not like some of the other, younger tributes… Except there's not a lot of tributes that are younger than her. Five. Only five tributes younger than her…which does not look well for her. There's no way she's not being considered a threat.

Genesis turns to Elias before her thoughts can keep spiraling down with thoughts of the Games and her odds. "How are you doing?" Genesis asks her ally gently, watching Elias stare out at the overwhelming crowd in front of them, eyes wide as he takes it all in.

But he turns those wide eyes towards her, staring at her and making her look away, always uncomfortable making eye contact with people. "How…am I doing?"

"Yeah," Genesis says, glancing at him again before turning to look out at the crowd. "How are you doing with all of this? And with talking to the President?"

"Oh," Elias answers, continuing to stare at her for a few moments as he thinks over his response. "I…am afraid of telling them the truth."

"But your parents can't hurt you," Genesis reassures him, looking over at him briefly to find a frown forming on his face. "Not here in the Capitol."

"But I am not supposed to talk about them…" Elias starts sniffling next to her and Genesis quickly reaches over, grabbing his hand to try and comfort him. He stares down at it, not closing his fingers around her hand for a few seconds. "What are you doing?"

"Um, comforting you?" Genesis answers uncomfortably before letting go of his hand, realizing that wasn't the way to go with him. Why is she always so bad at reading emotions from other people? "Sorry, it felt like the right thing to do…"

"Right…thing…" Elias repeats slowly, continuing to stare at her as he thinks about what she said. He actually turns his gaze away from her to stare down at the floor and they sit in silence for a minute, neither of them knowing what to say. But he slowly opens up his hand, holding it palm up to her. "Sorry…being comforted is not something I am used to."

"Neither am I," Genesis tells him before reaching out and taking the hand he is offering. He gives her a confused look and she feels uncomfortable bringing up her family to him…yet she knows so much about his family history… What's the harm in sharing a little with him? "I have a lot of siblings and as the oldest, I've had to step in a lot. So usually I was comforting them, not being comforted." She pauses at the frown forming on his face and turns away when he looks up and notices her staring, reminding herself of what he said during the talk with the President about his siblings. "Sorry, I shouldn't have brought up siblings to you…"

"They are not really my family anymore. Cecy is my family now," Elias says slowly, shaking his head at the thought of his three siblings. "I am…happy? I do not think that is right…about what happened to my brother. He," Elias pauses to take a shaky breath and Genesis puts her other hand on top of his, but she immediately starts frowning at the scars she feels on the back of his hand. "He did very bad things to me and my sisters."

"He deserves to get arrested," Genesis reassures him as she turns to look back out at the crowd. "Abusers deserve to be in prison for what…" She trails off as she stares at the tribute approaching them, immediately clutching Elias' hand tighter out of nervousness at the career. But she keeps her face calm and hiding the emotions swirling in her stomach about any career approaching them, let alone one of the two that scored an 11.

"Hi there!" Major says cheerfully, coming to a stop right in front of them.

Genesis simply stares up at him with wide eyes, petrified inside about facing one of the careers. She keeps her mouth shut as he stares at them expectantly, waiting for them to acknowledge his presence.

"Hello," Elias says eventually, making Genesis look over at him immediately to question why the hell he thinks it's a good idea to talk to Major.

"How's it going? Are you having a fun time at the party?" Major asks them, not giving them time to respond before he puts his focus solely on Elias, staring her ally down. "So Elias, you fight?"

Elias stares back at him and Major doesn't seem to let his unusual staring bother him, just putting his hands on his hips as he waits for Elias to answer. Meanwhile, Genesis is hoping that Elias won't tell him anything. He shouldn't tell Major anything about himself. If Major knows just how well Elias can fight…he'll absolutely tell the others and tomorrow they will target them in the bloodbath. "I do-"

"Not know how to fight," Genesis says quickly before shutting her mouth when Major looks over at her, feeling like she shouldn't have spoken up. How many times have her mothers taught her to think before speaking? And here she is, blurting out lies to a career from _One_!

"What do you mean?" Elias asks her in confusion, looking over at her. But Genesis can't meet either of their stares, feeling embarrassed for speaking up out of place. She is never like this… She can't bring herself to even stop Elias when he keeps talking, "You know that I was fighting in Six."

"I didn't know District Six was training people!" Major tells them, laughing a little before gesturing down to Elias' prostheses. "Well, clearly not at the same level as One if you got those from training accidents. Did you lose your legs that way? Damn shame, you know, being that way before going into the arena."

Genesis doesn't know what to say to Major, only feeling anger bubbling up inside of her for the way he's talking down to Elias. If only he knew just what Elias went through in Six with his family and why he is this way. He doesn't know of the years of abuse that Elias was subjected to and the countless injuries. But she keeps her anger in, keeping her face calm and the only outward sign of her anger being her balled fists on her lap. She cannot let him see her anger. But she also can't let Elias keep talking to Major and revealing more details about himself because he seems to have an inability to lie when someone asks him a direct question.

So when someone clears their throat, stopping Major from continuing to ask them questions, Genesis is quite relieved. They all look over Elias' mentor, Dampero, who is giving Major a skeptical look. "Excuse me, but I need to talk to Elias and Genesis…" When Major doesn't immediately start moving, Dampero clears his throat. "Alone, please."

Major's smile falters for just a split second, so quick that Genesis almost isn't sure if she caught it or not, before the career takes a step back from them, waving as he does so. "Well nice chatting with you! See you tomorrow in the arena!"

Genesis keeps her face neutral at this statement, but inside she's panicking at it. She does not want to see any of the careers in the arena…if she even will be able to see…

They watch Major weave through the crowd, following after Carameuse as she walks through the crowd with wide, nervous eyes. Dampero sighs loudly at Major leaving, making both of the tributes look up at him.

"What do you need to talk about?" Elias asks his mentor right away, sitting completely still and staring up at him.

"Do I need to go get Pigmy?" Genesis asks him, both of them avoiding each other's eyes. "If it's something important…"

"No, it's not," Dampero tells them quickly. "I just don't trust the careers talking to you so I came up with an excuse to get him to leave."

"So you don't…?" Elias gives his mentor a confused look, struggling to grasp Dampero's reasoning. "He seemed…nice."

"No careers are nice," Dampero tells him, staring at him to make sure Elias understands this. "Don't trust anything they say and stay as far away from them as possible. And if any of them get near you in the arena…you run unless you get cornered. Then you fight with everything in you. Understand?"

Genesis immediately nods her head and so does Elias, even if he isn't her mentor. He's been doing this for a lot longer than Pigmy has, so she will trust his word. And, he is Elias' mentor…she doesn't want to accidentally go against something Dampero told Elias to do. "Of course, sir," Genesis answers politely as Elias keeps nodding his head.

"I will stay away from them," Elias adds before starting to frown. "But…I really do not want to fight… That is what my parents want me to do…"

"I know, kid," Dampero sighs as he pulls over a chair to sit in front of them. "But eventually you're going to reach a point where you have to kill because you'll have the choice of kill or be killed. And do you really want to die?"

"No…" Elias says slowly, shaking his head as tears start welling in his eyes. "I cannot leave Cecy alone."

"Then keep thinking about Cecy and getting home for her," Dampero tells him firmly, waiting until Elias nods his head in confirmation. "This is going to be the toughest thing you have ever done, but you can _never_ stop fighting in that arena. If you do, you'll-"

"Hey Dampero…"

They all look up at the woman approaching them, her face looking angry, but it softens when she looks at the victor. "Iris, what's up?"

Iris sighs loudly as she crosses her arms. "Can you come with me? Bee sent me to get you because Mari is upset about…something, but she won't tell me who upset her. My guess is that asshole sperm donor," she mumbles the last part to herself, making Genesis slightly raise an eyebrow out of curiosity, but she also has no clue who this Mari person even is.

"Yeah, I can," Dampero says, standing up right away before turning to look back at the two of them. "Will you two be alright? I need to check on my niece."

He has a niece in the Capitol…? Genesis doesn't question this, though she does start to wonder if she can trust his judgement now that she knows he is associated with the Capitol. But…everything he was telling them was good advice. And he got the career to leave them alone…. She doesn't know what to think anymore about the Capitol… But…she'll listen to Dampero. He clearly has Elias' best interest in mind, and hers as well.

Genesis looks over at Elias, finding him looking distraught from what his mentor told him, and she reaches over and takes his hand again to comfort him. He gives her a smile at this, although it's really looks more like a grimace, before she turns back to look at Dampero. "Yeah, we'll be alright."

* * *

 _Fox Durham, 18, District Ten_

As the hours go by and it gets later in the evening, there's nothing Fox can do to stop the creeping fear from filling him up as the Games get closer and closer to starting. He really doesn't know what's going to happen tomorrow and it scares him. He doesn't want to hurt anyone because he just keeps imagining the parents out there watching and being destroyed if he were to kill their kid. It's so much different being here for the Games as a father…his whole perspective on the Games is different than the others. Every time he tries to discuss strategy with Johan and his mentor tells him the reality of the Games…he just keeps picturing that he's the parent watching Maddox in the Games. He's the one watching and hoping that his son will be the one that makes it out, cursing the names of anyone that hurts him… How could he possibly do that to someone else after knowing what it's like to be a father?

And yet…he has to get back home to his family. How can he not try and get home to little Maddox? Or to Paloma who is pregnant again with what she thinks is a little girl? Oh he really hopes it's a girl…but he has to get home to them first. Everything in him as a parent tells him he shouldn't kill in the arena, shouldn't kill other children. But he can't let his children grow up without their father…

Fox has been able to push back these thoughts for days, ever since the Reaping…but reality is setting in now. They're less than 24 hours away from the start of the Games… And no one else here understands what he is going through. No one except for Adam.

How could he have _not_ allied with Adam? From the moment he sat on the trains watching the Reapings, he knew he wanted to help Adam out. He just…needed to protect the very pregnant person, feeling almost like he would towards protecting Paloma. Even if it's been heartbreaking thinking about Adam entering the arena still carrying his baby. He wasn't trying to protect one person. He was trying to protect Adam and his baby. A baby that would be very healthy at this point if he was born.

Which Fox thinks might have happened.

Fox knows he isn't the smartest person. He'll admit that. He dropped out of school years ago and can't read. But even he can figure out that the baby Adam holds is his son. Why else would Adam barely leave the baby's side this whole night? And why else would the Head Gamemaker's mother be looking after him? Fox knows the look of a parent holding a newborn baby – he's seen it before with Paloma – and that face hasn't left Adam's face the whole time he's holding little Cain.

It still brings a smile to his face to look over and see Adam rocking the tiny baby, even if the sight nearly brings tears to his face as he thinks about how he might never get to experience that with his little girl.

"What?" Adam asks, looking up and getting embarrassed when he sees Fox staring over at him.

"You know, you're a natural at being a dad," Fox tells him, making a proud look form right away on Adam's face that makes him grin in return. "I…" Fox hesitates, not sure if he should be saying this out loud… He doesn't know if they could get in trouble for this. But he looks around the room, making sure no one is paying attention to them. But some of the victors have already come to get their children, leaving Tara to just watch the Westmann's daughter who has just as bold of a personality as her parents, requiring her full attention. So Fox quickly turns back to Adam, whispering to make sure Tara doesn't hear him. "I'm glad you got to experience being a dad."

Adam's eyes start watering at this and he uses one hand to quickly brush away tears, doing his best not to disturb his sleeping baby. "So am I…" He whispers back, confirming to Fox what he thought, before looking back down and running a hand over the thick head of dark hair. "All this time, I've been worried about what would happen to him when I wouldn't make it out."

"Adam…" Fox tries to say, not wanting to hear his ally talking this way once more, but Adam shakes his head and cuts him off.

"We both know I'm not getting out of there alive," Adam tells him, his voice wavering from the tears threatening to fall. "I-I can't… I refuse to kill anyone…"

"I know," Fox answers quietly, wanting to cheer Adam up, but how can he do that when he doesn't know what to tell him? He hasn't even been able to figure out how to deal with the similar thoughts he has been having. "But our boys…"

Adam shakes his head at him. "I can't kill. It's against everything in me…"

They stare at each other for a moment, Fox's heart breaking for his ally giving up already. But they're interrupted by footsteps approaching them and they look over to see Fete frowning at the sight of them. He stands there for a moment, hesitating to join them until Fox smiles at him and motions to an open chair near them. "Hi," Fete grumbles as he sits down, putting his drink down on the floor next to his chair. He nods his head at the baby Adam holds, "I see you found a baby."

Fox laughs at his wording, "You say that like he found the baby in a scavenger hunt."

"Well that's the only place I would find a baby," Fete deadpans to him before turning back to Adam, his gaze softening just a little as he looks over at Adam. But as he stares at the baby for a few moments he starts to squint his eyes. "It looks like you."

"It," Adam repeats, chuckling a little. "He's a boy. Cain."

"Can't relate, I wasn't a boy when I was born," Fete tells him and Adam keeps smiling as he nods in agreement with Fete.

"Same," Adam comments back, making Fete genuinely start smiling at him. Adam sees Fete starting down at baby Cain for a while and looks down at the baby before standing up. "You can hold him if you want," Adam tells Fete, passing over the sleeping baby to Fete before the man has time to tell him no. Fete sits there stiffly, holding the baby in the most awkward way that Fox has ever seen someone hold a baby, with his arms outstretched and doing the minimum to hold him.

Fox laughs a little at his reaction and quickly takes the baby from him, getting a relieved sigh as Fete relaxes and quickly picks up his drink, downing half of it. Adam widens his eyes at Fete downing the drink, clearly concerned that he had just given the baby to someone who has been drinking. "You act like the baby is going to hurt you."

"I prefer furry babies instead," Fete answers, looking a little disgusted at the sight of the baby. "Cats don't puke and poop on you."

Fox laughs at this, before quieting down to shush Cain as he starts fussing. But Adam quickly reaches over, so Fox lets him calm down the fussy baby. "Yes but they're so cute at this age." His smile falters just a little bit as he stares at the baby, reminded once more about Paloma back home and their baby on the way. "Of course, they are still cute as they get older but nothing beats those first few months with them…"

Fete sighs as he stares down at the ground, tapping his finger against the edge of the glass. "I hate to break it to you two, but it's unlikely any of us will live through the next few days."

"You don't know that for sure," Fox tells Fete, but even he isn't too sure about this… This only makes Fete look up at him with a single raised eyebrow. "I'm serious."

"I swear, if one of you two says 'Hi serious, I'm dad' I'm getting another drink," Fete shakes his head at the two and Fox has to hold in laughter at this because it is something he would say.

Fox looks over when Adam start chuckling a little bit. "But we _are_ dads."

"Hmph," Fete responds to him, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. "I suppose you're the only two qualified to say that."

"Well you could argue that you're a cat dad," Fox tells him, making the smallest smile form on Fete's face at the mention of his cats. "How many do you have? I've thought about getting Maddox a kitten because he loves the barn cats so much."

"You just…have barn cats? Like cats that don't live in your house?" Fete asks him, clearly perplexed by Ten's living situation. "Don't they get hungry or cold? And who cares for them?"

"They take care of themselves," Fox tells him, now getting an offended look from Fete at the lack of care the cats are given. "They take care of the mice in the barns and it's warm year round."

Fete shakes his head at this, tipping back his glass to get whatever drops remain. "But what about the _cuddles_?" Fox shrugs at this and Fete turns his gaze over to Adam, getting very focused on him. "What about in Seven? What do you do with your cats there?"

"I, uh…" Adam gives a look over at Fox at Fete's defensiveness about cats and Fox shrugs at him. "Well, I suppose some people have them as pets…"

"Good," Fete whispers, leaning back in his chair and shutting his eyes. "Everyone should adopt cats. Especially the ones left behind by tributes…" Fox watches as Fete starts frowning at this. "Someone needs to take care of…" Fete trails off and Fox watches him for a moment until he opens his eyes back up again. "Atropa will take care of them if I don't get home, which I doubt… But if she doesn't get home, someone else needs to take care of them. You know, if you really want to…" Fete starts mumbling and Fox is unable to hear the rest of what he says. But before he can ask him to repeat himself, one of his mentors enters the room.

"Hey Fete, I've been looking for you," Clark tells his tribute, crossing his arms and shaking his head as he continues. "Devrek is insisting that we all sing a song with him…like _all_ of us. Can you just join us so he stops pestering me?"

Fete sighs dramatically at this but stands up, brushing off his pants before picking up his empty glass. "As long as I can get another drink before this disaster."

Clark looks at the glass skeptically before shrugging at him. "I suppose…but not too much."

"Yes, yes, sure dad," Fete waves at him, making Fox start frowning in concern for him.

"How much have you had to drink?" Fox asks him, watching as he sways just a little.

Fete just grunts at this and shrugs his shoulders, making all of them give each other concerned looks. Clark takes the empty glass from his hand, ignoring Fete when he glares at him. "Yeah you've had enough… I'd _really_ appreciate if my first tribute didn't go into the arena hungover…"

"Whatever," Fete grumbles before heading towards the door. When he reaches it, he turns back to look at them. "Well?"

Clark hesitates, turning back to look at Fox and Adam, especially the small baby they have with them. "You should…come join us."

"I don't see why not!" Fox answers right away with a smile before turning to look over at Adam. "What do you think?"

Adam hesitates to respond, looking between Fox's encouraging smile and the baby, before looking over at Tara. "You still have time to come back and see him," she tells him gently.

"Okay," Adam says quietly before letting Tara walk over and take Cain back, immediately cooing at the sleepy baby. Adam stares at her for a moment and Fox starts to wonder if he'll change his mind, before Adam turns to him and nods his head. "Just for a little bit."

"So what exactly are you doing?" Fox asks Clark curiously as he follows behind the young victor that he towers over.

Clark turns back to Fox, scowling just a little when he has to crane his neck to look up at him. "Our escort is trying to impress a girl."

Fox chuckles at this as they get back to the main part of the party. "This should be amusing," Fox tells Adam, who shrugs at his response as he glances back in the direction they came, clearly wanting to go back to his son.

Clark leads them over to the stage and Fox smiles at some of the younger tributes they pass on their way over. Davy smiles at him in return, while Eliot waves at him before trying to show Jessamine him signing something at Fox. But from her laughing, he's guessing Eliot said something completely wrong.

"Clark, my dude!"

Fox turns at the voice calling to the young victor and sees one of the new escorts approaching them. Devrek looks over at Fox and Adam following behind Fete and Clark, before glancing down at the recorders he holds in his hands. "Sorry dudes, I didn't know you would be joining or else I would have brought more recorders!"

Atropa stands behind the escort, rolling her eyes at Fete over their escort, making him snicker a little.

"That's alright," Fox says, giving the escort a pat on the shoulder. "We're here to watch and cheer you on. So, who's the pretty lady?"

Devrek puts a hand over his heart immediately at this. "Oh let me tell you, she is _stunning_. She – Woah."

He's cut off as his jaw drops open and Fox follows his gaze to see where Devrek and Clark are both staring. Astrid approaches them, holding the hand of a woman who can't stop grinning, laughing a little when she sees the District Eight team's reaction. "Are you two trying to catch flies in your mouths?"

"I – when – what?" Clark asks, gesturing at the two woman in confusion.

"Mari is joining us for this," Astrid tells them, lifting up their joined hands a little to answer Clark's question. Mari nods her head at this before looking over at Astrid and smiling some more.

"Astrid, you didn't answer his questions," Mari teases her, making Astrid shrug. "The answer is tonight and you're old enough to know about relationships."

Clark just starts shaking his head, looking baffled at this. "I'm so confused."

"But you know what's not confusing?" Devrek asks them before holding up the recorders and waving them. "Wooing the woman you want to marry with a performance!"

"Did I hear you're performing?"

Devrek turns at the voice, liking a bit awed at the escort approaching them. "Ain, hi!"

Ain smiles politely at Devrek before looking around at the group. He gestures to the man standing by his side, who looks rather similar to Ain, from the similar tone wavy hair to slim build, and when he smiles, it's clear the two are related. "This is my brother Radian."

The group all says some variation of 'Nice to meet you' to Radian and he nods back in greeting. Ain holds his flute up, making Devrek widen his eyes at the sight of it. "So, you're going to perform?"

"Yes," Devrek answers, nodding his head a few times. "I have a woman to impress."

"Well, I do know quite a few romantic songs," Ain tells Devrek, patting the escort on the shoulder. "Radian too. So how about we help you out?"

"That would be great! We're singing Boyfriend," Devrek responds immediately before looking around. "Alright team, let's do this!"

Fox watches as Devrek gets the attention of the band and talks to the lead singer while Radian goes off to get his violin for the performance. The rest of the District Eight team doesn't look quite thrilled about this performance, especially when Devrek comes back and hands them recorders. "This should be funny," Fox tells Adam as the group takes the stage.

"I don't even know how to play the recorder," Clark tells Astrid quietly.

"Just pretend you're performing, he won't be able to tell," Astrid answers him, making the youngest victor shrug.

Devrek goes up to the microphone, tapping it a couple times to get everyone's attention. "Hi, hello, hope everyone is having fun. So uh, I have a special song to sing – with help from a few friends, of course," Devrek grins back and only gets a smile from Mari, with the rest of them giving him a variety of sassy looks. Ain and Radian come up on the stage, ready to perform with their flute and violin respectively. "This song is dedicated to Laelia Hyperion!"

* * *

 **We are now done with the party! Can you believe we only have one more chapter left before the Games? :O I'm so very hyped to get to that point and hopefully I'll have the Night Before chapter done soon!**

 **So thoughts on this chapter? What's Major up to by talking to Elias and some others? Are the dads going to fight? What was Fete going to ask Fox and Adam? And who is the 'asshole sperm donor' Iris mentioned? (we do know this person lol)**

 **Be sure to check out my random story stuff blog because I've been posting some deleted scenes from the party. There will be four in total from the party/night before!**

 **And before I stop rambling, just a reminder that subs are still open for my new partial, Legacy! Those will close on August 31st, so there's still some time :)**

 **Alrighty, I will see you probably soon with one last pre-Games chapter! We'll be checking in with Anastacia, Davy, and Adam!**


	30. This Is Not Goodbye

**Chapter 26:**

 _Adam Vignola, 18, District Seven_

Adam didn't want this day to come. He didn't want to say goodbye to his son. But…he's happy that it could happen. He didn't think a few days ago when he was reaped that he would even get the opportunity to ever meet his son. He thought he would go into the arena, desperately trying to protect him while knowing he cannot take a life…and fail. He would have failed at being a parent by being unable to protect him. He would have let them both die…

But at least Cain can now live on without him.

The gift of life is the best thing he could have given to Cain… Yet he so badly wishes he could be there to watch him grow up. To see all the little things that Fox has told him are amazing to see in the first two years. He won't see his first steps. He won't hear his first words. He'll never be there to support him when he gets older and goes through the rough middle school years everyone has. He'll never be there for his first relationship…his first heartbreak. He won't ever see him find a love of his own or have his own children…

He won't ever get to know his son.

Adam tears up as he holds onto Cain tightly, watching the innocent baby, safe in his arms and sleeping, unaware of the cruelty out there in the world. Unaware that he is about to lose his second parent… "I love you so very much," Adam whispers to him, trying to hold back the tears. "I wish I could tell you this every single day…" Adam shudders as he holds in a sob and feels tears slip down his cheeks and he wipes them away before any can fall on Cain's soft little head and wake him up. "I would tell you every day, if I could…"

Adam looks up at the ceiling, trying to blink back his tears. "Why…" he whispers to himself, never realizing just how hard it would be for him to say goodbye. Cain has only been alive for a day, yet Adam feels like he's loved him his entire life. He knows he was always meant to be a parent…

He looks back down at Cain, trying to study every little detail of his tiny face. He's just so small…so helpless and needing him… "I know you're going to do great things someday… You're going to grow up and be a brave young person who is going to be a kind and gentle soul. You're going to do something great in this world. And I…I know I won't be there to see it happen in person… But I'll be watching down on you… Whatever I can do to protect you… I will. My baby boy."

"I'm going to try to help Fox get out for you. He…he will be a good father, since I won't be there," Adam whispers to Cain, leaning down to kiss him on the top of his head full of peach fuzz. He knows he won't be able to do much to help him, not without fighting…but he can at least try to protect Fox. Because if he gets out…Adam knows Fox will care for Cain just like he would care for Maddox or his little girl who is coming soon. "You can grow up with siblings since I will never…"

Adam trails off, the thought lingering… He doesn't know if he would be able to put up with the dysphoria a second time to have another child but…looking at Cain now… It was all worth it. All the months of watching his body change without his control and feeling less like himself every day…seems like a distant memory now that Cain is in his arms. But that future is quickly slipping away from him, blowing away like dust in the wind.

"And if I can't get him home to protect you…"

Adam can't finish that sentence and he starts quietly sobbing to himself, not quite knowing what will happen then. He won't know who will take after Cain…they might not love him properly, raise him into being a kind and respectful person that values the lives of others…

He tenses up at the hand on his shoulder, not having heard Tara approaching him over the sound of his tears. She rubs his shoulder before wrapping her arm around him and leaning her head against his shoulder. "I will keep him safe, if you or Fox don't get home…" Tara says softly and Adam can feel the fabric on his shoulder growing damp with her tears. "I promise…I'll look after him. I don't care, I'll treat him like my own son. Or grandson."

"Th-thank you…" Adam says quietly, unable to stop the tears pouring down his face at her words. "I-I don't understand…why are you doing this?"

"Because…" Tara says quietly, still holding onto him and giving him a mother's love, providing a small bit of physical comfort to him in his last hours. She gives Cain a little boop on his small nose and they both smile when he opens his mouth a little, but thankfully stays asleep. "This little cutie has already made me fall in love with him already. I've been asking Serry for grandbabies for years…I guess in a way he finally did give me a grandbaby."

"Probably not exactly how you expected this to happen," Adam laughs a little bit and Tara joins him.

"No, not exactly," Tara answers him honestly. "But doesn't mean I will love him any less."

"Yeah…" Adam says quietly, thinking about how crazy this whole thing is. Never would he have imagined that his son would be growing up with the mother of the Head Gamemaker. Never in a million years would he dream of this moment right now, with him holding Cain and with Tara Lukianas having her arms wrapped around both of them. "Cain Lukianas… Kind of has a ring to it…"

"I wish we could keep his last name Vignola, regardless of what happens…" Tara answers quietly, and Adam wishes the same. But what can he do? Cain's safety will always come first for him. And after what he found out about Cedar… Part of him wishes Cain could grow up in Seven with Adam's parents, but for his safety…he knows he can't go back there. Not…after what they have told him. He still finds that hard to believe. Cedar…a rebel? He couldn't believe that his ex-boyfriend would be part of rebels…right? But yet…it explains some of the comments Cedar made before they broke up. Why he would always get so frustrated by Adam being so pacifist about watching the Games when Cedar would say things about how unfair they were and wishing they would end. Adam agreed with him, but didn't see how that could happen without the loss of life… But now, now it all makes sense, why he was saying those things.

Someone clears their throat and they both look up to see Seraphim standing a few feet away, hands tucked in the pockets of his suit and looking…uncomfortable? Adam can't quite tell. But everything about this is so weird… The Head Gamemaker, standing in front of him with his mother comforting him."Hey…" Seraphim says quietly, not meeting Adam's gaze and instead staring at the baby in his arms. "I…I'm sorry but…it's time…"

Adam tenses up at this, not ready to say goodbye yet. He knows he should be grateful for having any of this extra time with him…but he's not ready yet. He needs to know one last thing. "But will you…" Adam frowns, immediately growing protective over Cain and wanting to do anything he can to keep him safe. "Are you going to be safe? From the…you know."

Seraphim sighs at this and rubs his arm as Tara holds onto Adam tighter. "We're doing everything we can to stay safe. My Mom will be staying with him in a room that only myself and the President know the code to."

"Okay," Adam nods his head, feeling his eyes water up in relief that Cain will at least be safe. He swallows at the lump forming in his throat, feeling his heart start racing in fear of never seeing his baby once more. "Can I just…have a little privacy?"

"Of course," Tara answers softly before letting go of him. She walks over to her son, pulling him over to the other side of the room to give Adam some semblance of privacy to say goodbye.

Adam clears his throat as his tears are renewed as he looks down at his tiny, cute, perfect sleeping baby. "I'm so sorry that I won't be there for you…" Adam starts, knowing that if he has any regrets about all of this… It's that. "And I'm sorry for the pain that this will cause you someday in the future when you learn what happened to me… But I hope when you do…I hope you are proud of me for the choices I make in that arena." Adam shakes his head at this, knowing so many others have tried to tell him to change his beliefs to survive…but he won't change. Life means too much of him to pick up a weapon in that arena and kill…even if the Head Gamemaker's mother is watching his baby. "I know you might be upset when you learn this but…I hope you realize that I stayed true to myself and that's what matters. I won't change for them…and you should never change for someone else."

Adam takes a shaky breath, doing his best to wipe away the tears that are falling down his face. Cain starts fussing a little bit at the movement and Adam gently bounces him, cooing at him to go back to sleep. He puts his face closer to his, running a finger along his little pudgy cheek, just…trying to memorize every little part of his perfect son. And even if his memories of Cedar are now changed…he still likes the fact that Cain got Cedar's eyes, but Adam's hair color… He's the perfect little mix of both of them…

Adam leans down to kiss his forehead, shutting his eyes and letting out a sob as he holds his baby for the last time. "I love you. Now and always… Just…please live a good life and be happy…"

Adam picks up his head as he hears Tara's footsteps approaching him, but he can't look up at her. Doing so will mean that it's really time to say goodbye. "I'm sorry, Adam…" Tara says quietly as she reaches over to gently take Cain from his arms.

"No, please don't…" Adam whispers to her, shaking his head as he stares at her with blurry eyes. "I can't-"

"Adam, it's time," Seraphim tells him as Tara steps back with his son, taking away his light and joy…

He follows after her, not quite ready to leave him yet… Adam reaches out, grabbing onto Cain's tiny little fingers, and he lets out a cry when Cain tries to grip onto his finger. He can't leave him…it's not _fair_ that he is being forced to leave him…

And in that moment, all the things Cedar used to say to him about the Games make sense… It's not fair for parents to be separated from their children by the Games. But Adam doesn't think he meant quite like this.

"Goodbye…my little angel…"

* * *

 _Davy Emmerich, 14, District Five_

Davy still hasn't found the courage to say anything to Leandro tonight, despite being with him all evening. And he's running out of time. He wants to have the courage to do it like Odyssey told him. But every time he tries to find the words, he can't get them out.

And now it's only a matter of time before Leandro goes to sleep. How much longer will he sit around with the Calder family before every heads off to sleep?

"You know, I think I'm going to make some hot chocolate," Letha tells them, smiling gently at the two youngest boys. "How does that sound?"

"Sure, Mom," Leandro says to her, giving her a smile that Davy finds adorable.

Davy looks away when Leandro glances over at him to see what he thinks, embarrassed at being caught looking at him. "That wo-would be great, Mrs. Calder," Davy stutters out, feeling his face heating up.

"You know Mom? I think I'll pass," Argos, her eldest son says as he stands up from the couch. He starts walking towards the elevator, Letha watching him with concerned eyes. "I love you, fam, but surely there's some hot babes here in the Capitol."

"Argos!" Letha yells at her son, hands on her hips and making Davy stare at her with wide eyes because he has never heard her sound like she's about to scold someone. "Just be _safe_ , please. I swear you're the reason for the gray in my hair."

Argos laughs at this as he presses the button for the elevator before turning back to face them. He pulls out little plastic squares from his pockets and waves them in the air, making Davy immediately start flushing. "Don't worry Mom, I always am."

Letha starts sputtering at him as the elevator opens and Argos turns back around, frozen in place for a moment as he stares at someone inside, but from Davy's spot, he can't see who is there. But he doesn't think he wants to know from Argos' tone, "Oh _hello_ there."

Davy must be bright red in embarrassment by the time the doors shut and Letha is standing there, eyes shut and shaking her head at her son. She puts a hand on her head and mumbles to herself, "I'm going to be a grandmother way sooner than I want to." She moves her hand and looks at Davy, smiling apologetically. "Sorry… Anyways, hot chocolate?"

Davy just nods his head, wanting to focus on that instead of Argos. But…if only he could be as bold as Argos with his feelings. He should be…

"Great, Xander, can you help me?" Letha looks at the middle son, who gives a small shrug at this before standing up to join her. They start walking to the kitchen before Letha turns back around, smiling at her husband. "Oh, dear, I have something I need to talk to you about."

Davy watches with wide eyes as Mr. Calder stands up, following his wife into the kitchen, and Letha gives Davy a pointed look before she just…leaves him there with Leandro… Alone. He never should have told her how he feels about her son. She…she totally left them alone on purpose!

Leandro gives a laugh as Davy looks everywhere but at his face where he sits at the other end of the couch. "That's Argos for you," Leandro tells him and Davy briefly looks over at him, flushing at seeing Leandro looking at him.

They fall into awkward silence, with Davy trying to get himself some courage to actually say something to Leandro. He has to say something…this could very well be his last chance to tell him… Davy knows what his odds are of actually winning the Games. It's not impossible – last year was proof of that. But…he's up against a lot of older and stronger tributes. He has to be realistic here. And as much as it terrifies him, he doesn't want to die without having actually told Leandro how he feels. But the fear of what might be Leandro's response has kept him from saying anything. He…doesn't know if his heart could handle rejection right before the Games start. But yet…he needs to know. And who knows, maybe if Leandro _does_ somehow return feelings for him, it will be that extra thing he needs to fight and get out alive.

What did Odyssey tell him? To just go up to him and say 'Hey I like you'?

"What?" Leandro asks him suddenly and Davy freezes up, realizing he…actually said that out loud.

Davy's face must be as red as Leandro's hair right now and he looks down at the ground, even feeling his ears heating up in embarrassment. Oh God…why did he say that out loud? This isn't how he wanted this to go… "Uh…nothing…?"

Davy keeps staring down at the ground, wishing he could just melt into the couch and hide away from Leandro. He's such an idiot…so not smooth and he didn't even say it in a cute way. Just… "I like you too."

"Huh?" Davy asks, sounding like a real idiot as he looks up to see Leandro scooching over on the couch to the middle of it. Leandro is avoiding looking at him, his face matching his hair, he nervously bites his lip as he nods his head and stares down at the ground. Wait… "Oh…cool."

Davy can't believe how speechless he is right now. Get him talking on things he likes and he won't stop. And he likes Leandro a _lot_. Yet here they are, awkward silence without knowing what to say. Davy briefly glances over at him, giving a small smile when he sees Leandro looking over, before blushing a bit.

Letha clears her throat loudly and Davy jumps a little as his mentor enters the room, making a lot of noise to announce her presence. He rubs the back of his neck, hoping his mentor didn't overhear that disaster of sharing feelings. She stands in front of the two, smiling at them and hold two cups of hot chocolate in her hands, the mugs overflowing with whipped cream. "Here you two go," Letha tells them as she hands them the cups.

"Thank you," Davy says quietly, wrapping both hands around the mug and holding it to his chest. He glances over at Leandro and finds him avoiding looking at his mom.

Letha gives a big yawn and stretches her arms. "You know, I am _so_ tired after that party. I think I'm going to head to bed. Unless you need anything?"

"I…" Davy hesitates, knowing this could be one of the last times he has to talk to his mentor. And yet…for the first time in the Capitol, he doesn't want her around. Not when he wants to just talk to Leandro. "I don't think so…"

Letha pats his shoulder, giving him a kind smile. "We'll have a little time in the morning. And you can wake me up at any point if you need me."

Davy nods his head at her and she pats his shoulder one more time before starting to head out of the room. She calls back over her shoulder at them, further embarrassing both of them, "Don't stay up too late."

" _Mooommmm_ ," Leandro says to her, exasperated by her mothering, but Davy loves it. He gives Davy an apologetic look when Letha is out of the room, taking a sip of his hot chocolate and getting whipped cream on his nose.

"You got something-" Davy reaches to wipe off the whipped cream, but freezes up halfway towards Leandro, before pulling back his arm and turning away, sipping his drink and trying not to feel so embarrassed around him. Why is he still feeling so nervous? Leandro told him he likes him too…

Leandro uses his sleeve to wipe his nose, smiling a little at Davy. "Thanks," he whispers before taking another sip of his drink.

They fall into silence again, neither knowing what to do. Davy finds himself slowly moving a little closer to Leandro, feeling like the gap between them is impossibly large, even if it's only a few inches. "So…" Davy says quietly, trying to find the confidence to talk to him now that he – accidentally – admitted his feelings. "Now what?"

Leandro brings his hands holding the mug down to rest in his lap, and Davy moves a tiny bit more until their arms are touching. "I don't know…" Leandro answers quietly, refusing to look over at Davy's face. "I…I'm scared, honestly. How many times have I watched my Mom mentor? And how many times has she brought someone home…?"

Davy is filled with fear at the mention of the Games, the terrifying thoughts of being in the arena having been pushed aside by his fear of saying something to Leandro. "I'm terrified," Davy tells him. He stares down at the mug in his hands, trying not to think about District Five's success rate in recent years. It doesn't matter… "If Clark could win last year, so can I…"

"I know my mom will do everything to get you home," Leandro tries to reassure him, but it's hard to feel comforted when his voice his wavering from tears that want to fall.

"I know she will," Davy tells him, having the utmost believe that Letha is going to do everything she possibly can to help him out. "But I'm only fourteen… I don't know how many people are going to want to sponsor me."

"I'd sponsor you," Leandro says, making Davy smile a little at his comment. "And everyone else should too."

"I hope they do…" Davy answers. "There was that one nice woman with a dog that spent a lot of time talking to your mom… Maybe she'll sponsor me."

"She should," Leandro reassures him, but Davy isn't too sure. She also saw that woman talking to Odyssey's mentor later…and why would she sponsor him when she could sponsor a career that has much higher odds than him?

"I don't want to keep talking about the Games…" Davy says quietly, feeling a nervous pit forming in his stomach from this talk about sponsors. He just…wants to enjoy this time with Leandro. He might never get it again… He holds out his hand to Leandro and he stares at it for a moment, before slowly putting his hand in Davy's. "I just…want to spend time with you, if that's okay with you."

"Of course that's okay with me," Leandro says right away, smiling a little at him as his ears turn red. "More than okay."

"Good," Davy smiles back at him.

"What do we do now?" Leandro asks him.

"I feel like Amadeo would tell me tell me to kiss you or some other advice that I am way too scared to actually do," Davy says, before feeling his ears heating up at actually saying that.

But Leandro laughs a little at this, "Argos would say the same thing, as you saw."

"Yeah," Davy chuckles a little at how…bold Argos was earlier. They fall into silence again, with Davy thinking about that. He might never have the chance to do that… Never have the opportunity again to have his first kiss. And with _Leandro_. "Do you…" Davy clears his throat, struggling with the words.

"Want to?" Leandro adds, and Davy quickly glances over at him, nodding his head a little as he feels his cheeks heating up. But at least Leandro is blushing too as he leans over to kiss Davy, in what he thinks must be the most awkward first kisses ever. Their noses bump and his lips only land half on Leandro's, and they just sit there for a few seconds, before both pulling away and chuckling a little at the awkwardness. "That was…"

"Not as magical and amazing as your older brother made it seem like it would be?" Davy says and Leandro laughs at this, nodding his head in agreement. Even if it was awkward…Davy can't help but grin a little at it. "We probably need practice."

"Yeah…" Leandro says, shrugging a little as he leans into Davy. "Well I guess…I mean, if you want to, if you win we could…"

"Yeah, we could…" Davy answers with a soft smile, sliding down a little so he can lean his head against Leandro's shoulder. He could get used to this…he really could. But…first the Games… "I just…for now, I just want to sit and talk with you to try and forget that tomorrow is happening."

"Okay, we can do that," Leandro responds quietly.

The two boys sit there, talking about everything _but_ the Games starting tomorrow, staying up later than Letha probably would want them to, but it's what Davy needs. They stay up so late until they fall asleep, leaning against each other, and late in the night when Letha goes to check on Davy, they don't even wake up to her putting a blanket around the two, letting them have their moment of peace together before the Games begin.

* * *

 _Anastacia Astoria, 18, District One_

Anastacia stares up at the ceiling, knowing the minutes are ticking by, but sleep won't come. She doesn't think it's anticipation of the Games starting. She feels a calm peace around the knowledge that starting tomorrow, she is finally going to work towards her dream that she's had for the past six years. She's given up on so many of her own dreams along the way. She gave up music after the training accident – but maybe she wouldn't have had to if she didn't start training harder than before. She gave up potential friendships and relationships. Her own personal happiness just didn't seem as important in the grand scheme of things. Why should she be happy when there are people out there like Pad who need someone to reach out and give them a helping hand? A hand that she'll be able to offer as the victor…

But before that can happen…she has to get through these Games. The people like Pad need her to get through these Games. And Anastacia _knows_ she needs to sleep because once she's in that arena, she's not going to be sleeping much. There's no way she trusts her allies enough to sleep safely for longer than one hour at time. And maybe that's the problem.

The other career Districts seem to trust their District partner completely and have a pact that they'll stick together until the end. Bell and Odyssey are the closest Anastacia has seen a pair from a career District in a long time – well…maybe not as much after… _whatever_ happened between them at the party. Even if Delta doesn't seem to really do the whole friendship thing, she still has an agreement with Demarcus. Anastacia doesn't have that. She doesn't _want_ that, at least…not with Major.

Anastacia has yet to figure out what exactly it is about him that makes her so distrustful about him, but she knows there's a reason for it. There has to be. There's been so many little things over the years that have made her distrust of him build, slowly building an anger in her that is just waiting to be ignited. His whole persona screams that he is a good person and yet…she doesn't believe it. It had taken her time to realize it but why hadn't Major showed up for Pad's funeral when he had been helping them out right before their death? If Major really was their friend…he would have been there. And how convenient is it that for years and years, Major was always coming in second place to Shard Halloran and once the victors started narrowing down the trainees, Major started dating Shard? And the change in Shard…she knew him, as he was one of the few trainees that actually acknowledge Pad's death to her and he seemed genuinely sad about what happened. He was a gentle giant who despite being in training to go into a death match, seemed to have other's best interests at heart.

Until he started dating Major. It took time, but he was no longer that strong and gentle boy. Anastacia didn't realize it until it was too late and Major had already claimed the first place spot. But it won't be too late to help Shard once she is out of the arena as a victor. She can help him heal from the abuse he's been experiencing at Major's hands…

But it makes her wonder…what else has Major done over the years? Who else has unfairly suffered at Major's hands over the years?

Anastacia knows she isn't going to be able to sleep until she has an answer to this question. She has to stop anyone else from suffering because of him. And her mind won't slow down, racing through a hundred different scenarios about what Major could have done. And all of them start tracing back to one person…the one person who has pushed her here today.

Pad.

Before Anastacia can think twice about it, she's pulling herself up and slipping on a pair of fuzzy slippers. She sits at the edge of her bed, staring over at her door for a few long seconds, knowing just across the hall there's someone that can give her the answers. Yet she's hesitant to wake them up, knowing it's late and they are probably asleep. But if she isn't getting any sleep, they're not going to get to sleep either.

With one sigh, knowing this is might change everything, Anastacia pushes herself to her feet and walks quietly to her door, not wanting to wake up _everyone_ on their floor. She steps out into the hall, hesitating at the door, her fist raised and ready to knock. Why is she hesitating? She hasn't hesitated this whole time she's been training for these Games.

She knocks three times and steps back, anxiously waiting for them to come to the door. _No going back now._

It takes a few seconds before she hears footsteps on the other side of the door before it opens, revealing a very tired looking victor standing there, wearing pajamas with cats all over them, which brings just a small smile to Anastacia's face for a moment.

"Anastacia?" Thetis asks in confusion, fighting back a yawn as she glances back in her room. "What are you doing? It's 1 AM."

"I can't sleep because something is bothering me," Anastacia tells her. "Can we talk please?"

Thetis fights another yawn but nods her head, stepping out of her room to lead Anastacia out to the kitchen. "Yes, best to talk now and get it off your chest before you get into the arena. We don't need a repeat of Dracana all because you didn't talk to me."

"I'm not going to kill the careers in the bloodbath," Anastacia reassures her as she takes a seat at the kitchen island. She watches Thetis take out some glasses and pour water for both of them, and reconsiders that. "I'd rather plan out an elaborate downfall for them worthy of how they have hurt me."

"Oh fucking hell," Thetis whispers to herself as she takes the seat next to Anastacia, shaking her head as she takes a sip of water. "Please do not do anything rash in the arena."

"I'm not the type to do rash things," Anastacia tells her, using her fingertip to draw swirls in the condensation on the glass in front of her. "So…" She says slowly, trying to think about how she even wants to ask Thetis this. If she gets an answer on this…there's no going back. She can't just pretend that she didn't know this information. If it's not what she thinks…then fine, she'll keep going about her current plan. But if it is…it changes everything. "All those years ago, you said that some of the trainees gave complaints about Pad…"

"That was a long time ago, Anastacia," Thetis tells her, sighing as she shakes her head. "Shouldn't you be focused on the Games?"

"I am focused on that," Anastacia tells her. "Pad is the whole reason I am fighting in these Games. So I…" She struggles to find the words and Thetis waits in silence for her. "I just…I need to know who it was that told you that they were a threat. Because it's not true. You and I both know that."

Thetis stays quiet for a long minute and Anastacia looks over at her. "I can't tell you that information."

"Why not?" Anastacia asks immediately, growing suspicious that her mentor won't answer her. What does Thetis have to lose by telling her if it's someone back home? Anastacia can't do anything about it until she's victor. There's really only one reason for her not to tell her.

 _It has to be him._

And it makes sense from Thetis' perspective why she wouldn't want to tell Anastacia that her District partner was the one who inadvertently pushed their friend to their death the night before they go into the arena together. But she needs an answer. She needs an answer to calm her brain and focus her thoughts on what must be done. And that can change depending on what Thetis says. "I'm not going to sleep until you answer me, and I don't think you want your tribute to be sleep-deprived in the arena."

Thetis sighs at this, knowing it's true. "I really don't and I wish you were sleeping now instead of having this conversation," Thetis says quietly, refusing to meet Anastacia's intense stare. "I really can't tell you."

"Because it was him, right?" Anastacia asks, watching Thetis glance over at her nervously. "You don't want to tell me that it was Major."

"I…" Thetis hesitates, before sighing loudly, her shoulders hunching over. " _Yes_."

Even though Anastacia had suspected it, hearing her mentor confirm it to her…it makes her go completely still as thoughts race through her head. Thoughts about how differently things would have been today if Major hadn't told the trainers lies about Pad and forced them out of training when their home life was so terrible. Anastacia never would have gotten that drive she needed to train harder than everyone else. She never would have lost her dreams she had of her future. _She never would have lost her best friend when she was only thirteen._ Pad would still be here with her today and they would probably be sitting at home together back in One, watching as the chosen volunteers prepared to enter the arena instead of her sitting here in the Capitol being the one preparing.

Her whole life would have been different if Major Emerson-Ness had never said a word about Pad.

"I'm going to kill him," Anastacia whispers, her voice wavering as her eyes start blurring with tears. _Pad could still be alive right now._ As the tears start falling down her cheeks, fiery hot rage starts slowly building in her stomach. Rage that she focuses on one person. "I'm going to make him pay for what he did to Pad."

"Okay let's not jump that quickly to the extremes," Thetis says quickly, looking uncomfortable at the rage in Anastacia directed towards Major.

"Why not?" Anastacia asks her, her voice cool and monotone, masking the fire inside of her. "He pushed my best friend to death. He deserves to die in return."

"Anastacia, please…" Thetis tries to say to her, "Promise me that you're not going to ruin One's chances of victory because you get caught up in some absurd plan to kill your _District partner._ Let the others take care of him if he bothers you that much. Just _please_ don't self-destruct and take away our chances of victory over something that happened years ago."

Anastacia stares at Thetis, knowing she can't tell her that. She knows she's not going to ruin One's chances of victory. She isn't going to be rash about this plan. She'll lose a battle to win the war. And taking her time, making sure the others in her alliance all know what a snake he is before killing him, it will make it all worth it in the end. She'll turn them all against him, just like Major turned all of the other trainees against Pad. And once he is gone, Anastacia is going to get that victor title for herself.

Before the end of this, that son of a bitch is going to get exactly what he deserves for pushing Pad to their death. Anastacia will make sure of this. By the end of these Games, she will have Major screaming his apology to her before she wipes that smug smile off of his face and sends him straight to the pits of hell where he belongs. "I can't make that promise to you."

 _It's time for Major to get a taste of his own medicine._

* * *

 **And with that, we have officially reached the start of the Games! This is it. Next chapter we will finally become _senseless_ (I'll go home lol, bad pun XD) and know exactly what sense each tribute is going to lose! I'm so incredibly hyped to get to what I have planned for these Games and I've had the arena thought out for a long time now lol. As much fun as the pre-Games chapters are to write, the angst of the Games is even more fun. **

**But first, one last goodbye with these three tributes. I know the moods are quite different in this chapter lol but at least I started you with the angstiest one XD How do you think what happened will change the plans of these three in the arena?**

 **Since the Games are about to start, I always love to see your bloodbath death predictions and who you think might be the victor at this time! The victor choices especially help me judge how the arcs have been going so far and also get an idea on who people like.**

 **I still have two more deleted scenes to post before the Games officially start, looking at some night before stuff. One is going up right after this chapter and the other should probably be up later this week, to have five in total before the Games start. Be sure to read those because those are all canon things and if you don't, you might be a little confused by things lol.**

 **Now I'm sure you're asking "But Lauren, when are you going to actually post the bloodbath?" Well the answer is...soonish lol XD Sorry, don't have an exact date at this time but I am expecting before the end of September. And the reason why I don't have a date yet is because Celtic and I are planning a day of _double angst_ by posting our bloodbaths on the same day. Yes, we are masochistic people lol. Once we have a date and time (we'll post separate times so don't worry if you're involved in both stories, you don't have to choose lol), I will post it on my profile! But for now...**

 **Now our watch begins (unless, you know, you're one of the tributes that is losing sight because they won't be watching anything lol).**


	31. Senseless

**Chapter 27:**

 _Letha Calder, District Five, Victor of the 112_ _th_ _Hunger Games_

This…is always the worst part of the Games for Letha. The waiting for them to start…the pit of nerves and anxieties forming in her stomach knowing that once they are in that arena, there's so little she can actually do to help her tribute. But this year…the stakes are so much higher for her.

She _has_ to get Davy out to protect her son. Her baby…

From the moment Davy first confessed to her on the trains how he feels towards her youngest son, she swore then and there she would do everything in her power to get him home. To save her son from the heartbreak of losing the one he is crushing on. She knows if the worst happens it will destroy Leandro…he might be able to come back from it, but Letha won't from the guilt of knowing she failed them both.

"Hey Mom…"

Letha turns at the sound of her eldest son calling for her, surprised at his tone. Argos stands a few feet away, nervously rubbing the back of his neck – a neck Letha raises an eyebrow at when she sees it covered in marks. But instead of scolding him, she takes a few steps closer and hugs her boy, seeing that he needs some comfort right now. "I know, dear…"

"It's just…" Argos sighs as he holds onto her tightly. "Last night…"

"Can we wait until after the Games start to talk about you going out to find 'hot babes'?" Letha asks him, really not sure she can handle the stress of her eldest son sleeping around on top of the immense stress she already feels with the Games starting so soon.

"But that's the problem," Argos says as he steps back from Letha, struggling to tell her what is bothering him. The fact that he came to her and not his father is enough to make her concerned right away. "I – oh, never mind… I know you're just going to focus on Davy for Leandro…"

"I have to, Argos, you know that," Letha tells him, scolding him just a little for thinking she wouldn't put her full focus on Davy. "Regardless of Leandro, he is my _tribute_ …"

Argos pouts at this, but soon nods his head. "I guess…any chance we are allowed to sponsor tributes?"

"I wish we could," Letha says with a heavy sigh. "Leandro has already begged me this morning to use his entire college savings account to sponsor Davy."

"Right…" Argos says quietly. "Well…I'll just go talk to Dad… You need to focus on Davy and Leandro if the worst happens…"

"Are you going to be alright?" Letha calls after him and he pauses to look back at her.

"Yeah, Mom… Just make sure you're alright."

Letha is frowning at her son as Galen approaches her. "Letha…it's time."

"I wish it would never be time," Letha whispers to him, growing more anxious by the second. She hates this.

"We can never stop it," Galen tells her, trying to reassure her, but…there's no stopping the anxiety twisting her stomach around and making her feel like she might throw up.

"I know…" Letha sighs before staring at the elevator for a moment. "Let's go try and save our tributes…"

The pair head over to the elevator and as they push the button, someone yells after them. "Mom, wait!"

Letha has to fight back tears at the pain in her son's voice, knowing she needs to be focused on Davy right now, not her boys… _But her baby needs her._

"Mom, please," Leandro pleads with her as he stops next to her as the elevator opens, thankfully empty. Galen steps in, keeping his hand over the door to keep it open for Letha. She looks over at her son, already her height, as he takes her hand. But she wishes he hadn't because seeing the tears on his face makes her start crying immediately. "Let me go with you."

"Leandro, I…" Letha shakes her head, looking over at Galen for support on what to do. "I don't want you watching in that room and being around all that pain…"

"But what if I need you for my own pain…?" Leandro asks her quietly, trying his hardest to stop crying right now.

Letha shuts her eyes at this, hating every moment of this. "Letha…" She opens her eyes at Galen's voice. "Let him come with us."

"Alright…" Letha whispers before pulling her son into the elevator with her. As the doors shut, she holds onto him tightly, trying to soothe him. "He is going to get out of there safely. He is a smart boy."

"I-I hope so," Leandro sobs at her shoulder and she leads him out as they reach the floor where Letha will spend the next few days, still holding onto him tightly.

As they enter the mentors room, Letha can see they are the last to arrive. They get a few looks as they enter, thanks to Leandro, but Letha doesn't pay any attention to them. All she cares about it what's about to happen and being there for her son if he needs her.

Johan looks up at her arrival and when he sees her with Leandro, he jumps up to bring over another chair for her at their table. She sits Leandro down between them and Johan moves his chair closer to him, trying to rub his shoulder to soothe him. Letha keeps a hold of Leandro's hand as she looks around the room, thankful the screens for the tributes are not on yet. She still has some time…

Her fellow victors are scattered around the room and for the first time in a long time…everyone seems anxious and nervous for the start of the Games. Especially the younger ones who were not around for the last Quarter Quell.

The career mentors sit near each other, but even they aren't talking and joking around like they usually would. Thetis and Emilio are whispering to each other, their faces a mix of anger and nerves. Kat sits separate, her arms crossed and scowl on her face as she stares straight ahead at the black screens, avoiding looking at Glacia and Darach next to her, holding onto each other tightly as Glacia has her eyes shut, tears silently falling down her cheeks. And next to them, Okeanas and Muir, both silent as they watch, faces full of worry that is so unusual for Okeanas.

Nearby, several mentors sit together at two tables pushed close together. Isidore is biting her nails and Letha is glad Amelia has a mentor that cares just as much about her as she would a tribute actually from Three. Jarle has his chair pushed away from the table and closer to the one next to them so he can talk to Dampero, both of them looking around at the others as they talk quietly. Matla sits at the table with Dampero, her arms crossed and frown on her face, surely trying to steel herself for the start of the Games. And Pigmy is on the other side of Matla, tapping her fingers on the table as she stares straight ahead. Galen has joined them and when he sees Letha looking his way, he nods his head and tries to give her a reassuring smile.

The District Seven team sits together on a small couch, Glen with his knees pulled up and his arms wrapped around them as he stares down at the ground. Stefan is saying something to him quietly, shaking his head the whole time.

Fonio sits alone at the bar, an untouched drink sitting in front of him as he stares off…clearly not too certain about his tribute's odds. Mazie sits near him, occasionally glancing at the glass in concern, no doubt thinking about all the years of mentoring with Sativa and watching her drink the pain away.

Kanzi and Pinova share a couch, Kanzi's arm protectively around Pinova's shoulder as tears fall down her cheeks, and Letha just wants to hug her. But the second youngest victor isn't staring at the screens yet. She's staring at the youngest among the mentors.

Letha's heart breaks as she looks over at the table where the group from Eight sits together… Hessian has his head resting against the table, shaking it repeatedly. And Astrid and Clark… Astrid stands behind the chair where Clark sits, her hands protectively on his shoulders. Clark is…as distraught looking as Letha expected him to be for his very first Games… She nearly gets up to go hug him, but Leandro tightens his hand in hers as the screens light up, revealing the tributes in their respective launch rooms.

Her eyes find Davy right away and her heart breaks for the boy as he stands alone, tears falling down his cheeks. "Leandro…look away for this…"

"I can't-"

" _Look away_."

Leandro starts to protest her but when she gives him a hard look, tears forming in her eyes, he slowly nods his head. He moves over to hide his face in her shoulder, but she knows he is still going to be watching, even if she doesn't want him to see what might happen. But how can he not watch?

Everyone is going to be watching. It's time for the Sixth Quarter Quell to begin.

* * *

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

As the tributes prepare to launch, Seraphim watches all of the screens, anxiously waiting for something to go wrong. He just cannot fight the pit in his stomach that… _something_ will happen… He's tried ensuring everything will go smoothly…yet…the rebels are the unknown factor. The President has not yet been able to figure out what exactly their plan is and it's making Seraphim a ball of nerves.

"If you keep biting your lip, you're going to have no lip left," Laelia tries to joke with him, but he can tell from her voice that she is also nervous about this. "No lip left for Zephyr to kiss."

Normally her comment would have made him start blushing, but not now. Not when the Games are mere minutes away from beginning. He absentmindedly rubs at his arm, feeling pain from the scar barely there anymore. "I just want this all to go smoothly."

"And it will," Laelia reassures him. "We've done so much to keep it secure."

"But what if we missed something," Seraphim says desperately as someone calls up that all tributes are ready in their arena gear – a simple outfit to stick with the theme surrounding the Quell. Lisia had told him to pick a theme, and he has stuck with it. So now, the tributes wear Roman garb, simply white togas – with some pockets in them – and sandals that lace up their legs. Seraphim sighs and takes a glance at Laelia. "I guess we don't have time to worry right now."

Seraphim stands up and walks to the edge of the balcony, trying to get himself focused and ready for what's to come. He takes a deep breath as he stares down at the team of Gamemakers below them, all waiting on his command. "Give them the order to enter the launch tubes."

The word is given and Seraphim watches everyone enter the tube, some slower than others, hesitating and trying to take as much time as they can to avoid the inevitable. Some try wiping the tears from their faces, while others stare straight ahead, letting the tears stay there as the tubes slide down around them. And some just look ready to fight.

"Ready for launch, sir."

Seraphim nods his head and stares at the screens. Twenty-two tributes…how many of them are going to make it through these next few minutes? How will they all react with the loss of their senses? And who will be their victor? He can only begin to guess…but there's no time to speculate. "Let's bring them up and turn on the sense bots when they are in the dark before reaching the arena."

The tributes slowly start to rise and Seraphim watches as each tribute gets their one sense taken away from them to fulfill the Quell twist. And then they are pushed out into the arena, all but five of them getting their first glimpse of the arena.

The cameras give an aerial shot of the arena, a massive dilapidated colosseum, with the tributes being placed up in the first floor level of the stands with steps leading down to the fighting pit, where the Cornucopia sits in all its golden glory. The tributes are put in five groups according to which sense was lost, spaced out equally among the level. Staircases are spaced between the tributes, leading upward to two more levels above them and below to a whole floor waiting to be explored. Each group stands in front of a small pile of knives, one for each tribute, giving them the option to choose to fight there or risk it for the different weapons at the Cornucopia. Bags are scattered throughout the stands, filled with better items the further the tributes are willing to get to the Cornuopia. It's a worthy risk, but a risk that leaves their backs completely exposed if they try to run away from the careers, two of which he knows will go for range weapons.

"Zoom in on the tributes and get their reactions."

The cameras first find the five tributes who got the worst sense taken away from them: their sight. Around the pile of knives, all arranged to still be facing the Cornucopia, stand the five tributes. As the sun hits their faces, they know they have lost their sight.

Anastacia curses under her breath and Demarcus immediately turns in her direction, calling her name. "Anastacia?"

"Yeah, I'm here," she says loudly before cursing again. But hearing her voice seems to slightly calm the panic building in Demarcus because he knows he is not alone there.

Atropa, standing between the two of the careers, starts shaking her head when she realizes where she is. "Well this is a shitty fate. Fate…Fete!" She gets a response from him, letting her know at least what direction to run to get to him, but her face doesn't look too hopefully about her odds of getting away from the careers.

Courtney tilts her head to the side, trying to rely on her hearing, but of the five standing there, she looks the least concerned. "Carpe diem," she mutters to herself before bracing herself to start running whenever the gong sounds.

The last of the five, Arthur, breathes heavily as he calls out to Cal, clearly starting to panic at the loss of his sight. But his ally doesn't respond.

Because the cameras move over to the next group, the group with the second worst sense to lose in the arena. Cal looks around, noticing who is with him, before starting to wobble a little as his sense of balance is also impacted by the loss of their hearing. But he finds his ally, and determination fills his eyes as he stares down the supplies at the Cornucopia.

Next to Cal, Major is watching him, cold look in his eyes as he glances between the knives and the supplies Cal is preparing to run towards. But a smirk forms on his face as he glances at the sight group and sees Anastacia there, not seeming as bothered by his loss of hearing.

Across from Major in the group, a girl glares over at him, and Seraphim has no doubt that Sky is going to try to get to Major using one of the knives in front of her.

Next to Sky, Davy is nervously glancing around at the group he has launched with, unable to hear one of his allies calling for him. He snaps his fingers next to his ear and tries to keep it together when he realizes that he really did lose his hearing, before taking a deep breath and trying to sign something, giving himself comfort that he will still be able to communicate with his allies.

In the center of their small group stands Adam, who is crying as he panics over the loss of his hearing. He crouches down on his pedestal, putting his head between his knees for a moment as he tries to slow his breathing, but quickly looks back up when he realizes that he has no way of knowing when the countdown will start.

The cameras next pan over to the group that has lost their sense of touch, something that could be dangerous in the arena if they become unaware of injuries.

Bell is flexing her hands, clearly trying to get used to the lack of sensation there. She moves her neck side to side, clearly preparing herself to fight.

Beside her, Jessamine just looks relieved that she has not lost her sense of sight, before starting to look around to find her allies.

Which is quite the opposite reaction of Amelia, who is rapidly breathing as she pats down the pockets on her toga, panicking as she tries to pull out her token that's a picture of herself and her brother. When she does finally have it in her hand, her breathing slows a little, but tears of fear are forming. But as she looks around the arena, she nervously calls out when she sees Courtney looking prepared to run. "Courtney, I'll come to you!"

The last of their group is Genesis and she stares around the arena with wide eyes, getting overwhelmed by all of it. But she does looks over at her ally nervously calling her name. "I'm here, Elias."

The fourth group is shown, the group that has lost their sense of taste. They are slow to react to it, a few of them moving their tongues around and trying to see if they really did lose that sense. Seraphim knows they are relieved now, but they may not be later on in the arena.

Eliot is bouncing on his feet, waving his arms around and trying to call out to his allies, but both of them can't hear him. Seraphim gets a little worried about all of his movement, but he stays balanced on his pedestal, clearly ready to run for his allies.

Delta is next to him, not reacting at all to her sense and only staring at the fifth group of tributes, burning hatred in her eyes, and Seraphim lets out a sigh of relief that Delta will take care of that threat.

Fete is looking alert, for once, staring across the arena to where his best friend and ally stands. His fists are balled at his sides and he blinks rapidly, trying to hold himself together.

The last in their group is Fox, tears flowing down his cheeks as he watches Adam panic, far from him. He braces himself to run, in the direction of Adam, not the supplies.

And the final four are in the group with the loss of smell. Similar to taste, it takes a bit for them to realize which sense they lost, with Odyssey even sniffing himself and nodding his head in approval. "Well at least I won't be able to know how bad I reek at the end of this," he chuckles to himself before looking for his allies and getting focused.

Eva rolls her eyes at him as she eyes out the supplies by the Cornucopia, clearly weighing out the risks of going for the better items.

Elias looks terrified for the start of the arena, but his eyes are locked on Genesis, before assessing the pathway connecting the launch areas.

And finally, there is Holly, or Carameuse, staring back at Delta and hyperventilating.

Clockwise around the arena, the tributes stand, spread out by their group. Sight at the northern edge…hearing…touch…taste…and smell…

Seraphim takes a deep breath, knowing there's no going back now. "Start the timer."

The sixty second timer begins, with both a number hovering over the Cornucopia and with a Gamemaker counting down, providing everyone in the arena with the ability to know when the Games start.

Seraphim watches the monitors with each tribute's vital signs on it, watching as some of the heart rates increase. He's surprised when Odyssey starts calling out to his two allies in the sight group. "Anastacia and Demarcus! We're around an arena."

"No shit we're around an arena!" Anastacia calls back to him, having no patience for his poor explanation.

"No, like a fighting arena!" Odyssey tries to explain, growing frustrated with himself as the timer reaches thirty seconds remaining. "Look, about ten feet in front of you there's a knife for each of us. Just be careful of the stairs!"

"Stairs?" Demarcus mutters as the countdown reaches twenty seconds. "Great…"

 _Fifteen_ …

"Just get a knife!" Odyssey yells at them and braces himself to run for the supplies like the other half of his alliance.

 _Ten…_

 _Nine…_

 _Eight…_

 _Seven…_

 _Six…_

 _Five…_

 _Four…_

 _Three…_

 _Two…_

 _One…_

The gong sounds.

Chaos breaks out as the tributes start moving immediately.

"Start Adam's delay," Seraphim says, really wishing he didn't have to do this to him, for his mother's sake… But he must.

Across the arena, the first ones springing into action are the careers, all but two of them set on getting down to the main supplies and weapons at the Cornucopia.

The first death of the Quarter Quell happens within the first few seconds of the start, making Seraphim do a double take to confirm it. In his haste to reach his allies, Eliot didn't even think twice about where – or _who_ – he was running in front of. And his path crosses directly in front of Delta and he collides into the very angry career, who grabs onto him and lets out a cry of anger as she watches Holly run away from her and slip up the northwest stairs, leaving with nothing but her life. With one quick motion, Delta snaps Eliot's neck and drops the boy to the ground. She stares in the direction Holly went, contemplating following her for a moment, allowing Fete and Fox to start running away from her and towards their allies, both of them calling their names.

At the same time, Bell has grabbed one of the knives from the pile in front of her instead of racing right to the Cornucopia defenseless. She stares down at the supplies, before realizing two of the girls she launched with are frozen in shock and have yet to move. Amelia has taken off, running along the stand, staying away from the Cornucopia while trying to reach Courtney. Genesis starts moving when Elias calls for her, and both of them begin running towards each other, Elias along the outer edge and Genesis in the stands. Jessamine stares frozen in fear as she stares over at her dead ally, but when she notices Bell approaching her, she tries to get away from there, but it's too late. With one swift motion, Bell stabs the knife in her neck and Jessamine falls to the ground, clutching the profusely bleeding wound as she lays there, gasping her last breaths of air.

The sight group have stumbled off of their platforms, all of them struggling with their loss of sight. Arthur, considering who he launched near, acts on his survival instincts, and decides to save himself and stumble away from them, abandoning his ally who never acknowledged him. But the other four are all trying to listen to the advice from their different allies directing them. Atropa is following Fete's voice as he runs towards her, along the edge of the stands heading down to the pit. Courtney is trying to follow Amelia as she does the same as Fete along the opposite side. And Anastacia and Demarcus are simply trying to get to the knives Odyssey told them about, leading to a disaster as they collide. Anastacia slams into the ground, smacking her head from Atropa running into her, before the two start grappling on the ground, both throwing punches at each other while trying to reach for one of the knives. Demarcus and Courtney fall to the ground, landing close to the edge of the level, and when Demarcus starts falling down the stairs, he grabs onto Courtney and they tumble down together.

At the hearing group, two people have raced over to the knives, while Cal takes off running towards the Cornucopia. Major and Sky both reach for knives as Davy takes a few steps off his pedestal, before crying out as he watches his allies fall. Sky screams as she gets ready to tackle Major, before suddenly the three of them are blown away from each other, and gasps sound in the Games Headquarters.

Seraphim clutches the railing in front of him, trying not to get upset as he watches the explosion where Adam once stood that sent Davy, Major, and Sky backwards, knowing that this must be his fault. He is the one that gave Adam the penalty. He probably just made his mom cry and it's all his fault.

Some of the tributes look over at the blast, and Seraphim tries to keep focusing on the action, not the pit of guilt in his stomach over Adam's death. After all, the first tributes are reaching the Cornucopia.

Odyssey reaches the Cornucopia, finding a bow and swinging a quiver onto his shoulder, immediately notching an arrow as he turns around, ready to defend their supplies. He glances over at the sight group, looking hesitant about going over to help out his allies, before seeing a pair of tributes running away with a bag on the stairs, and shooting an arrow into the girl's back. Genesis stumbles forward from the impact of the arrow, yet with her sense of touch gone, she doesn't realize how badly she is hurt as she keeps running with Elias up the steps to reach the southwest staircase, heading up it.

Fox has crumbled to the ground at seeing the explosion and Adam's death, and he cries out. He knows he has to get out of there, despite the pain coursing through him and he crawls over to the staircase southeast to the one Genesis and Elias just took, pulling himself up and crying as he stumbles down it.

Those affected by the blast have gotten to their feet, with Major racing after Cal, and the boy from Three doesn't even know the career is following him until he is stabbed in the back as he tries to grab a spear. Davy has run off towards the southeast stairs, silent tears streaming down his face at everything he just witnessed, but not before grabbing one of the knives to protect himself. Sky is the slowest to stand up, clutching her head from where it slammed into the support structures. She pulls her hand away, seeing blood on it, before looking around and finding her target gone, leaving her to stumble in the opposite direction of Davy to the northeast staircase.

"Seraphim!"

"Not now!" He yells at the Gamemaker, trying to watch the bloodbath continue to unfold.

More of the careers have started to arrive, with Bell taking up a defensive position with Odyssey. In Odyssey's distraction over watching his allies fighting, he misses Eva running close to get some bags, but one of his allies doesn't miss her. As she runs to the Cornucopia, Delta picks up a sword, and even though it's not her first choice, still manages to fatally stab Eva in the stomach as the girl from Five tries to flee.

Fete is nearing Atropa as Anastacia keeps trying to get to the knives, all while keeping her pinned to stop her from escaping. Anastacia has Atropa's legs pinned, but her reaching around for a knife allows Atropa to sit up and try her hardest to push the career off her. Atropa tries to punch Anastacia, landing a blow on the side of her head, only making Anastacia angry and sucker punch her in return. Anastacia grabs onto the front of Atropa's outfit, pulling her closer to her to slam her head into Atropa's, letting out an angry cry and giving up on fighting with a knife and ready to pummel her to death. But all of a sudden, an arrow fires at the two from the Cornucopia, landing deep in one of their necks.

Standing at the Cornucopia, arms still poised from releasing his arrow, stands Major, smirk on his face as he watches his target collapse to the ground. Seraphim honestly isn't sure who Major was aiming at specifically, and with the way the two were fighting, he could have easily hit the other.

Fete screams in pain as he watches Anastacia push Atropa aside, so close to reaching her, yet he's too late. Anastacia looks up at his scream and when she starts getting to her feet to follow the sound of his voice, he clamps his mouth shut, holding in a sob, before turning and racing away from there and away from her.

Demarcus and Courtney roll to the bottom of the stairs, both groaning in pain over repeatedly hitting their backs on the hard stone. Demarcus is pulling himself to his knees and Amelia yells out for Courtney, getting close to reaching her ally. But not before Demarcus' hand brushes a knife on the ground and he grasps at it, cutting himself a little before swinging in Courtney's direction. Courtney starts coughing, spraying blood on his face, and Demarcus quickly backs up, leaving the knife in her chest and he stumbles away from the dying girl, horrified look on his face.

Amelia cries out at the death of her other ally, tripping over her feet and falling to the steps. She picks herself up, looking absolutely devastated as she glances around at the deaths around her, before throwing herself back down to the ground as Odyssey shoots an arrow at her. She scrambles up the steps, running in a zigzag, and avoiding another arrow her way as she darts behind the support structures and towards the northeast stairs.

Seraphim looks around the screens, trying to figure out if that's it. "Seven deaths-"

"Seraphim!"

"What?!" He finally yells, realizing quite a few Gamemakers are all staring at one particular tribute's vital signs. "Oh my God."

Seraphim's legs almost give out in shock, but Laelia catches him as they stare at Adam's heart rate monitor, still beating rapidly, until all of a sudden the signals freeze. "He's still alive…" Seraphim whispers, staring at the screen for a moment before yelling at the Gamemakers. "Replay the footage of his explosion _now_! And someone fire seven cannons. And do a camera recap on where everyone is heading. And someone call the President now."

The careers look around at the sound of seven cannons firing from their location at the Cornucopia. Well, everyone but Major, who starts pouting immediately when he realizes the others know something he doesn't. Demarcus counts the cannons and holds up seven fingers to Major.

The cameras go to the upper levels, where three tributes have dared to hide in plain sight from the careers. The upper levels have plenty of hiding locations while also providing a view of the careers, but they take the risk of the careers noticing them in return. Genesis and Elias have gotten up to the third floor and have stopped to catch their breath, and that's when Elias starts crying as he looks at the arrow in her back. "Keep an eye on those two, that wound is bad."

Holly has stayed on the second level, finding a nook to hide in and she holds her notebook closely to her chest, looking around nervously as she silently cries.

But the rest of the tributes have gone into the lower levels, and Seraphim is surprised that none of them have run into one another yet. Maybe it was just pure luck that the six tributes down there have picked different areas to hide. Amelia is the last down there and she keeps running clockwise along the circular hallway, wiping at her eyes to see where she is going.

Many of the tributes are crying, with many alliances having been broken up by the start of the Games. Davy is hidden in a crack in a wall where he pushed himself in when he saw Sky, but the girl didn't notice him at all as she held her hand and stumbled into a room. He's about to move when Amelia runs past him, so he presses himself further in, trying to stay quiet with his crying to avoid being seen.

Fox is apologizing to Adam from where he hides in the southern room, breaking Seraphim's heart because he knows Adam is still out there…somehow…

Arthur is feeling around the room he chose, cringing when he bumps into things and makes noise, but from the smile slowly forming on his face, Seraphim knows he thinks he found the best room. But that room is full of danger.

And Fete…he pushes open a door, screaming in pain as he does so, seemingly not caring at all about being heard. Not after what he just saw happen to his best friend.

"That's it for the bloodbath," Seraphim says quietly, shocked by what has happened.

"We have the clip, sir."

"Okay," Seraphim whispers, nodding to play it. "In slow mo."

He doesn't want to watch the explosion again, but they study it, frame by frame, watching to see what set off the explosion. But Adam doesn't step off it. None of the other tributes get close to him. One second he's just standing there and the next… _boom._

There's the flash of the explosion, the sound, the tributes being thrown back by the blast…but no blood. No body parts scattered on the ground like last year with Hazel's death… Adam was there one moment and then he wasn't.

"They faked his death…" Seraphim whispers, feeling his stomach sink as anxiety over the rebels bubbles up in him, making his breath quicken and he starts sweating all over. His arm starts hurting and he rubs the spot where he was shot last year when rebels got involved.

Seraphim had thought for sure they had secured the Games this year to prevent the rebels from sabotaging it. But somehow they slipped through. They got past them and stole a tribute from them, right under his nose. A tribute they think still carries the baby his mother is watching.

Seraphim can barely hear Laelia calling his name as he blacks out.

* * *

 **And with that, the Sixth Quarter Quell has officially begun.**

 **Eulogies:**

 _Eliot Eidner [9], Ranked 22nd, Killed by Delta [4]_

 _Someone has to be the first one to go in the bloodbath, and unfortunately that tribute was Eliot. I always knew there was no way Eliot would get out of there alive. He was so naive about the whole thing and so focused on getting to his allies that he didn't stop to think about just what, or rather who, he was getting in the way of. He was a good boy who was trying to do his best and made some genuine friends along the way in training. But having friends doesn't guarantee you'll make it out of the bloodbath alive. Thank you Sydni for sending this boy! RIP Eliot._

 _Jessamine Briggs [11], Ranked 21st, Killed by Bellona [2]_

 _I'm sorry for what I did to poor Davy here XD Jessamine was another who was very naive about the Games and everything thanks to her sheltered upbringing and when the Games actually started, it was quite the shock for her, especially to see one of her allies get killed so quickly. It was a matter of wrong place, wrong time with her being launched in a group with one of the careers that didn't immediately run for the main supplies. She could have had quite an advantage in the arena, especially with helping poor Davy now with his hearing lost, but alas, it wasn't meant for her to make it farther. Thank you Ella for sending her! RIP Jessamine._

 _Calvin Tailor [3], Ranked 19th, Killed by Major [1]_

 _There were really only two tributes aside from the careers that would be willing to take the risk of getting to the main supplies, and, well, both of those are on this list. Cal was very determined to be his best self and win the Games for his little brother. He was strong, but unfortunately someone else (Major) picked up on this and when given the chance to take out a threat at the start of the Games, he took that opportunity. Cal really could have made it far, but he didn't, thanks to Major. Thank you Lark for sending in Cal! RIP Calvin._

 _Eva Orville-Wright [5], Ranked 18th, Killed by Delta [4]_

 _Just like Cal, I knew Eva was going to go for the bigger supplies. She literally has the attitude of 'go big or go home' and obviously the bigger supplies was going to happen. It was part of her plans with her allies to get good supplies. It just...backfired on her. The careers were too functional (I mean, still debatable how functional they are) for her to get out of there alive. Thank you Blair for sending in Eva! RIP Eva._

 _Atropa Seigal [8], Ranked 17th, Killed by Major [1]_

 _I had two ideas for the D8 pair, either they both didn't make it out of the bloodbath alive or they had to do something else that is spoilers for upcoming stuff. I decided to go with the first option as I think it's going to have a larger impact on Fete. It could have been either one of them that went in the bloodbath, but given Atropa's sense lost and being near two careers, it seemed unlikely she would make it out of there. She's still certainly going to have an impact still on Fete's fate (lol). Thank you Henry for sending in Atropa! RIP Atropa._

 _Courtney Cassini [6], Ranked 16th, Killed by Demarcus [4]_

 _Ah Courtney...She was the result of the sense twist complicating things. I just could not see (hehe you know I'm gonna keep making these puns XD) her getting out of that situation alive when she lost her sight and was placed with two careers. She was ready to try and certainly could have made it out of there if she hadn't quite literally ran into Demarcus. Plat, thank you so much for this girl! I had a lot of fun with her and getting to know you along the way! And her story is definitely continuing because Amelia is certainly going to be impacted by her death. RIP Courtney._

 **Buckle up everyone because it is Games time! I'm so very hyped to be at this point and to finally get into the Games! I hope this chaos all made sense (pun intended) because effectively I was writing five mini bloodbaths lol. And of course, gotta throw in some subplot there.**

 **Thank you to everyone that subbed one of the tributes killed here. Picking bloodbath deaths is always tough because I love writing Games arcs, but some people have to go at this time. Did any of these deaths surprise you? How do you think Davy, Arthur, Fete, Fox, and Amelia will handle the loss of their allies? What is happening to Adam? And who do you think Major was really shooting at: Atropa or Anastacia?**

 **Oh and the senses! We finally get to see (except the five that don't lol) who lost which sense! If you have a tribute, are you happy or mad at which sense they lose? (sorry if your mad, blame the random number generator lol XD) I did make sure the careers were spread out with what sense they lost and made sure no District partners lost the same sense. The senses are going to be a big factor in the arena so I'm very hyped to finally be at this point!**

 **SPONSORING! Sponsorship is officially open! It will be through a google form that is up on my profile and make sure to check out the spreadsheet with the total points. Now you may notice that there are five...unique items related to this Quell. Since these items are highly valuable, I am putting a cap of only allowing one each. So I'll only allow one sight item in the story, one hearing, etc. And I am only allowing each submitter to send one sense item, so if you have two tributes, well...you're gonna have to choose (or beg someone with lots of points to help XD). So I wouldn't wait too long if you're thinking about sending it! As always, the prices on items will go up by 5 points each day.**

 **I'll also put the link to the sponsorship form here, just remove the spaces as always:** **forms. gle/PERQ2rfTPiiBVewt9**

 **The has/needs list is up on the story blog in the arena page, as well as a map of the arena and the locations of each tribute!** **We'll slowly find out what the rooms in the lower level are as the tributes discover them. I'm really excited about this arena and have had this idea since...probably before Overlooked finished up so a long time XD And now we can see how it connects back with the chariot outfits! Seraphim was told to have a theme and he sure stuck with it XD**

 **Okay...I think that's all I have to say (I'm sure I forgot something lol). We'll be back soon with Day One! So get ready for a wild ride!**


	32. Day One: It'll Be Okay

**Chapter 28:**

 _Day One_

 _Amelia Fensa, 18, District Three_

How could things have changed so quickly in a matter of hours? How could she have gone from the most alive she's felt in _months_ to relieving her brother's death over and over in her head? How could she have been so foolish to think that one night spent with the son of a victor would suddenly change things? It didn't…all Argos' smooth words and soft touches did was put a temporary bandage over the pain in her, the pain she can't get past and doubts she ever will now that she is in the very hell that created it in the first place. She shouldn't have tried to be that bold girl that would flirt back to an attractive guy, even if she had felt alive for those few hours with him before she couldn't fight off sleep any longer. That wasn't her…she never would have done something like that back in Three or Six…

But does she even know who she is anymore? She thought she was finding herself again throughout the ridiculous show they made them put on in the Capitol. But all it took was a couple minutes to bring her right back to where she was before ever going to Three. Back to the broken girl who didn't know how to find something to keep living for after her brother's death… She doesn't even know what to find that will make her want to keep living in this hell.

Maybe she would have been better off just getting shot with one of those arrows the careers were firing at her.

No…Aero wouldn't want that for her… He didn't give up last year when he lost allies in the bloodbath… He kept going and even found a new ally. Until that ally didn't help try to save him. No…Amelia doesn't think she wants a new ally. How can she trust anyone else in this arena?

Amelia uses her arms to wipe at her tears, trying to see the door in front of her. She knows she has to get out of this long hallway…but she's scared of what – or who – might be behind any of these doors. But how long will it be until the careers come down here and start searching for them? She can't be out in the open like this.

Amelia hesitates in front of the door as she grabs harder onto the strap on her shoulder – or at least, she thinks she is – knowing that she doesn't have any weapons to help her fight if someone is inside this room. She doesn't even know what she has in the bag… With a quick glance down both ways of the hallway, Amelia crouches down to start rummaging through her bag. Her hopes quickly diminish as she pulls out first an empty water bottle. But the matches and compass could be useful, and one could never turn down bandages in the arena. She looks at the flashlight, turning it around to find the switch and accidentally blinds herself for a moment when she turns it on directed at her face. She quickly shuts it off, knowing she'll be seen instantly in this dark hallway with that light. Amelia stays still for a few moments, her eyes shut as she tries to get adjusted to the darkness once more, all while carefully listening around her for any sounds of tributes approaching her.

In that moment…she knows how lucky she got with the senses. It was terrifying at first to have lost her touch – and still is – but to have lost her sight or hearing…? She would be at such a disadvantage right now. But she still is, considering she has no food or water.

 _Looks like she has to go through the door._

Amelia puts all the items but the flashlight away, able to at least feel the weight of it and know that in a pinch, it would at least hurt a bit to get hit in the head with it. As she stands back up, she still hesitates as she stares at the door, a feeling of dread filling her stomach. She doesn't want to face any of the other tributes that could be down here. She's terrified by the thought of taking a life, even though she knows she has to if she wants to get out of here for Aero. Maybe no one will be in the room. It's possible, considering how many doors she has already passed…

A sound from across the hall behind her has her quickly pushing open the door and slamming it shut behind her. She stays pressed up against the door, breathing hard as fear overwhelms her. She stares around the room with wide eyes, taking in the details of what looks like…an office? A large wooden desk stands in the middle of the room, with chairs on either side of it. Potted plants line the edges of the room, along with shelves filled with smaller plants, some of which look to her like they could be edible… In the back, several shelves of damaged books line the walls, along with one weapon rack with a single rusty sword hanging from it.

Amelia stares at that sword, in disbelief that the Gamemakers would actually just leave that there for anyone to take. It has to be a trap…yet she's so tempted to go for it. She doesn't have an actual weapon to-

A head slowly peeks up above the desk and Amelia is instantly in motion, running over to the desk with the flashlight above her head as a much taller person stands up, his face full of tears and fear as she approaches. She swings the flashlight towards him before she has time to start doubting herself, knowing she can't take the risk of hesitating.

"Wait!" Fox yells as he catches the flashlight with one hand. Amelia holds onto it desperately, refusing to let him take it away from her, and she starts swinging her other arm at him, only for him to catch it too. She can't break free from him and she starts squirming. "Stop, I don't want to hurt you!"

"Let me go!" Amelia yells at him, desperation rising up in her when she can't get her arms free from his grip. She doesn't care if he's one of the tributes that barely wants to fight, they're in the Games now. And in that moment, she is afraid of dying. Amelia brings up her knee and slams it into him, making him let go of her arms instantly as he crouches over in pain.

"I'd like to have more kids someday," Fox groans in pain as Amelia takes a step back from him, holding her flashlight defensively in front of herself in case he makes any sudden moves towards her. "You're as stubborn as one of the cows on the farm."

"Stay back!" Amelia warns him as he tries to straighten up, using the desk to support himself. She takes another step back from him, eyeing the sword hanging on the wall.

"I w-wouldn't do that," Fox warns her, nodding his head at the sword as he uses one hand to wipe at the tears still pouring down his cheeks and using the other to hold himself from the pain of Amelia's knee. "Yo-you know how the Games are… And I also wouldn't try to eat any of the plants in here, almost all of them are toxic."

Amelia stares at him, her doubt growing with each passing second. No one is kind like this in the arena without an ulterior motive. "Why are you telling me this?" Amelia asks slowly, tightening her grip even more as he stands up fully. "Why not let me just get caught in a trap and die?"

"Because I don't want to hurt you," Fox tells her, shaking his head as new tears start forming in his eyes. "I don't want to hurt anyone in this arena…all I wanted to do was protect Adam but I couldn't…"

"You're not getting out of here without killing anyone," Amelia responds as she keeps staring at the broken man in front of her, knowing she could probably kill him if she tried. He wouldn't put up much of a fight against her…yet she still hesitates. How can she just kill him in cold blood when he isn't trying to kill her too?

"I know…" Fox answers quietly, clearly torn by this. "I just…I don't want to be alone in this arena. I'm scared of what might happen and I have nothing. No ally, no food, nothing…"

Amelia starts lowering her flashlight before even realizing she's doing it. But she can't hurt him…the immediate rush of adrenaline that pushed her to attack first without considering who it was has dissipated at this point, leaving her feeling disgusted in herself that she would have actually tried to kill this father in front of her. She was going to kill him when he just wanted to help her… "You know plants?"

"I do," Fox slowly nods his head.

"And which sense did you lose?"

"Taste," Fox answers her right away. "You?"

"Touch…" Amelia says slowly, looking down at her hands holding the flashlight and noticing how white her knuckles are around it. She eases her grip on it, not having even realized how tightly she was holding onto it. If she didn't even realize that…would she even realize how injured she is if she got hurt? And she doesn't know what plants might be toxic, not like Fox does…

And as much as she doesn't want to trust someone else… _she really doesn't want to be alone in this arena…_

"Sorry for kneeing you in the balls…" Amelia tells him, feeling just a little bad for that now that she knows he wasn't trying to actually hurt her. She slowly holds out her hand to Fox and he watches her carefully. "Look, I don't know about you, but I really don't want to be alone in this arena…and you have skills I lack. So…allies?"

Fox grins at this as he takes her hand, shaking it enthusiastically. "Yes, I'd like that."

* * *

 _Bellona Silvanus, 18, District Two_

The career alliance was in good shape after the bloodbath. They had made all of the kills. Bell and Demarcus both made one, Delta and Major both made two, Odyssey injured another. Only one that didn't leave a lasting mark on the tributes was Anastacia, but she did most of the fighting before one of Major's kills. None of them were injured in their fights, aside from some bruises on Anastacia and Demarcus – but without their sight, Bell is sure there will be more. They have all the supplies they could need.

At least, on the surface their alliance looks great. But that was just appearance.

Two of them have lost their sight. Another has lost his hearing. And Bell can't feel a damn thing. If only taking away her sense of touch had also numbed the pain of heartbreak inside of her. And that's not even getting to the tension that sits between all of them, one Bell knows she is contributing to, but what is she supposed to do? She can't just go back to talking to Odyssey like nothing ever happened. She can't pretend everything is okay when it's not. It's better for her own sake to just ignore him and prepare her heart for what has to happen if she is going to win. After all, that's what Glacia and Darach told her to do.

Which is how she's ended up sitting with bags on her lap, slowly sorting out their food into six even piles, and avoiding Odyssey looking over at her with concern as he sorts through the survival gear. Delta keeps tossing aside weapons as she searches through the Cornucopia. Major leans against the outside of it, watching all of them as he holds onto a notebook and pen, bow still slung over his shoulder. Anastacia is trying to help out Delta, but with her being a lot slower to identify the weapons without her sight, Bell can tell Delta is getting impatient. And Demarcus sits off to the side, face turned towards his hands as if he can see the blood still on them. The guy from Four is probably the one most shaken up by the senses lost and making a kill in the bloodbath. But if he wants to get far, he needs to get over it.

They've barely talked since they first started sorting the supplies and Bell is starting to get tired of the tense silence. How have things already changed so much before the Games started? Back home, she would have been the first one filling in the silence. Now she's just contributing to it.

"Alright, when are we getting out there?"

Bell picks her head up at Delta coming out of the Cornucopia, finally reaching the limits of her annoyance at staying put here. Everyone looks over at her as she comes to stand in the middle of them, hands on her hips as she stares at all of them.

"What?" Major asks loudly, scowling a little that he can't hear what is happening in the conversation.

"She asked when – wait, never mind. Just give me that," Odyssey says, realizing mid-sentence that whatever he has to say is a waste of time with Major. He holds out his hands for the notebook and Major stares at him for a few seconds before pushing himself off the Cornucopia and heading towards Odyssey. He hands him the notebook with a friendly smile, but Bell can see his annoyance still in his eyes. Odyssey scrawls something out in the notebook and as he hands it back to Major, he looks around at the others. "So what are we doing?"

"Wasting time, that's what we're doing," Delta answers him.

"Well do you have an actual plan?" Bell asks her, annoyed at the girl sassing Odyssey, even though she shouldn't care.

Delta scowls at this and shakes her head. "We go out there and kill tributes."

"Great plan," Anastacia adds to the conversation, trying to look over in the direction of Delta but staring off to her right. "Let me just go right out into the arena when I can't see anything."

"We need to pair up," Odyssey suggests and those that can see look around at each other. "We can't let Anastacia and Demarcus be without someone that has their sight. And he has _major_ hearing loss so he should have a partner too," Odyssey chuckles as he uses his thumb to point over his shoulder at Major, but he's the only one that laughs at his joke.

"Hello? Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Major lets out a huff of annoyance as he stares at them with his arms crossed.

"Someone please tell him so he shuts up already," Anastacia says under her breath, but all of them but Major hear her. Bell snorts a little at this comment, in agreement with her, and Anastacia tries to turn in her direction to give a small smile.

"So you're saying you, myself, and Delta should pair up with one of the others?" Bell asks Odyssey and he nods his head in agreement.

"I'm with Anastacia," Delta says quickly before moving over to stand next to the girl from One who has a look of approval on her face at this pairing.

Bell tries to avoid looking at Odyssey's face, not wanting to see him still giving her a look of concern. "Well since you're already helping Major, why don't you be with him? Demarcus, you cool with that?"

Demarcus nods his head, even if he doesn't look too thrilled about this. "We…don't have a leader…"

Bell shares looks with the others and she knows this should be her opportunity to step up and take control of the pack. It's what people will expect of her. And yet…she doesn't want it. All she wants is to be away from them so she can avoid constantly being reminded of the pain inside her. And how many times has the leader of the career pack actually won the Games? Not very many times. She doesn't want that.

Demarcus is surprisingly the first one to speak up. "I vote Maj-"

"No," Anastacia says immediately, interrupting Demarcus, and Delta nods her head in agreement. "Not Major. And it's not going to be me," Anastacia says, shaking her head at them. "I suppose it's fair it's someone that has both their hearing and sight."

"Odyssey?" Delta suggests and Anastacia shrugs, giving as much agreement as possible in a death match.

"Well who is going to ask Major?" Bell asks, trying to avoid looking over at Odyssey looking in her direction.

Delta looks over at Anastacia, ready to share a look with her, but realizes quickly that Anastacia can't do that. "Does it matter?"

"Helloooo, anyone want to tell me what's happening?" Major asks them, proving Bell's point about involving him. They can't just neglect him in the decisions, even if Anastacia and Delta seem to want to.

Odyssey scrawls out another quick note to Major, just the word 'Leader?' in big bold writing. Major stands up taller at this, smoothing out his toga and putting his signature smile back on. "Oh, well if you all insist on me being the leader-"

"No!" Delta yells while Anastacia quickly shakes her head.

Major's smile immediately disappears at this, being able to understand their body language enough to know exactly what's going on without hearing. He crosses his arms and scowls at Odyssey as he writes another note to him. Major reads it for a moment, contemplating his answer for a few long seconds, before looking at the others and forcing a smile. "Sure, Odyssey would be great."

Everyone looks over at Bell, her being the last one to give a response, but she doesn't know why they're bothering. She's outnumbered now. Bell takes as much time as possible to avoid looking in Odyssey's direction. But she can't avoid him forever. "Bell?" He asks quietly and she finally looks over at him and immediately wishes she didn't. How the hell is she supposed to prepare herself for his death when he is still so concerned about her?!

"Go for it," Bell answers quietly before standing up and turning away from him, wishing she never let her stupid heart feel this way. She wants to hate him…if only it was that easy to do. "You'll be a great leader," she mutters as she walks past him and towards the weapons, picking up a spear for herself. "Mind if Demarcus and I take first patrol?"

"I'm not staying here," Delta says quickly, glaring at Bell for even suggesting that she stays put here. Bell glares back at her, knowing she's not staying here longer than necessary with Odyssey.

"Well I suppose as long as two of us are here at all times…" Odyssey says slowly, looking between the girls from Two and Four as they stare each other down.

"Good," Delta answers right away before heading over to Anastacia and taking her by the arm. "Let's go, I have someone to find."

"Demarcus?" Bell asks him and he slowly stands up.

"Yeah, let me just get a spear," he tells her quietly and Bell passes him the one she picked up before taking another for herself.

"Can someone please tell me what's going on here?" Major asks them loudly, no longer trying to hide his annoyance that he is unable to fully participate in their conversations.

Bell shakes her head at Major, knowing she would be just as annoyed if she had lost her hearing, but also glad she doesn't have to be his partner. She looks over at Odyssey, finding him not looking annoyed at him and she again finds herself wishing it would be easy to hate him. "Don't hurt your hand by writing so much to your buddy."

Odyssey chuckles at this and shakes his head. "I won't, as long as you stay safe out there."

Bell quickly turns away at this, having no idea how to even answer him. "Of course I'll be safe. Demarcus will have my back. Right, Demarcus?"

"R-right!" Demarcus answers quickly and Bell looks over to find him being genuine about it. "Well…as much as I can without my sight."

"I think it's going to be the other way around."

* * *

 _Davy Emmerich, 14, District Five_

Every rational part of Davy is screaming at him to keep moving, to find somewhere better to hide before someone finds him. Yet he's been petrified with fear ever since hiding in the wall as Amelia ran past him, unable to move from that small safe space he found. But how long until the careers start searching for tributes? If they see him, they won't hesitate like Amelia might have if she hadn't been blinded by her tears and had seen him. And he wouldn't even hear them coming…

The careers that took both of his allies away from him before they even got a chance to fight and would have killed him too…

Davy bites his lip as he holds in a sob, unable to know now how much noise he is actually making and terrified of bringing anyone to him. He couldn't do anything to help them…he didn't even _try_ to help them when they looked to him as the leader of their alliance. And now he is all alone in this arena, too scared to even move to find a safer spot. He's so…so… _pitiful._

Why would anyone want to root for him? He doubts anyone is rooting for him anymore…if they ever were.

Except…that's not true. There's at least one person rooting for Davy…the person he made a promise to that he would do everything he could to win. The person who is probably watching him right now and just as terrified as he is.

Davy doesn't know how, but he has to be brave for Leandro. He isn't going to break that promise to him.

Davy takes several slow breaths, trying to slow down his rapidly beating heart. He counts to ten, reminding himself with each breath that he needs to put on a brave face for Leandro. He can do this…maybe. With shaky hands, Davy tucks his knife for a moment into a pocket so he can slowly sign something to Leandro, hoping the Gamemakers will translate it for him to understand.

" _I'm okay."_

He knows he isn't really, but maybe if he pretends long enough to himself, it will start to be true. Physically, he's okay. Maybe a little bruised from being blown back…but no life threatening injuries. He hates the thought…but if Adam's mines hadn't gone off…he doesn't know if he would still be alive. Not with that terrifying look Major had in his eyes. It sickens him to be grateful for that…yet a small part of him is because he's still alive. He's still alive, while several tributes aren't. He has no injuries. He has a knife. But he doesn't have food and water…

One step at a time. He will find those things. But first, he needs to find safety.

Before what tiny bit of courage he mustered up can slip away, Davy takes out his knife and very slowly peeks his head out of the crack he's hiding in, looking both ways quickly and ready to hide again if he sees someone. His heart is racing as he looks up the hallway…but no one is there.

Davy lets out a small sigh of relief before putting a hand over his mouth, unsure how much noise he might have just accidentally made. He waits a moment, staring up the hallway, waiting to see if anyone heard him, but thankfully no one runs towards him. Davy pulls himself out of the crack, standing on shaky legs as he holds his knife defensively in front of himself, hoping it might make someone have second thoughts long enough for him to run away. But he doubts he is fooling anyone into thinking he'll attack them. Just look at him.

Davy glances down the hallway in the direction Amelia ran, before heading in the opposite direction. He walks as quickly as he dares to, only able to hope he is staying light on his feet. He keeps glancing back over his shoulder, terrified he won't hear someone approaching him… His eyes start watering as he thinks about how he has no one to watch his back. He would have if Eliot would have lived…

But he can't keep thinking this. He has to focus on keeping himself alive now and keeping that promise to Leandro.

On his right he passes the door he thinks Sky went into and picks up his pace, not wanting to run into her because he is sure she will try to fight him. He keeps moving quickly as he reaches a staircase and contemplates the door across from it, but glances back at how close by Sky might be, and decides to keep moving. Part of it is wanting to be far away from her, but he also knows it's partially because he's terrified of finding a tribute inside one of the rooms…

He keeps moving until he passes another room on his right and stops in front of a door opposite another staircase. Davy wants to keep walking around, but if he keeps doing that, he'll just end up right where he was hiding before. And the more time he wastes walking around…the sooner the careers might come down here and he is just making himself an easy target for them.

Davy takes a deep breath as he stands in front of the door, terrified of who could maybe be on the other side of it. But one of the other tributes is better to face than a career, right…? At least he knows where the one tribute he knows will fight is hiding and can avoid her. Surely the others will hesitate to kill him…

Only one way to find out…

Davy puts a hand on the door knob and tightens his hold on his knife in the other hand. He glances back around him again for another moment, before opening the door and stepping inside, turning back around to watch as he closes the door to make sure he doesn't slam it shut. He slowly presses it back and feels the click as it sets into place, before letting out a sigh of relief. His shoulders relax for a brief second before realizing he didn't look around in the room.

Davy realizes this mistake a second too late as he feels the hot breath of something on the back of his neck.

Davy starts shaking in fear as he slowly turns around and his eyes widen as he realizes he is face to face with a very large wolf mutt that has its teeth bared at him, only inches away from him. But it's not the only one in the room, Davy can see that now from the corner of his eyes, but he refuses to break eye contact with the abnormal sized wolf in front of him. It will view that as him being prey, right? Or is that some other animal? Is he making it worse by staring it down? Is it going to view him as a challenge?

Does it even matter? It's a mutt. If the Gamemakers want it to attack, it will.

Davy starts crying as he stares at the wolf, trying his best to be brave as he presses back against the door, trying to get as far from it as possible. His hands start sweating and he tries to move his knife to his other hand to wipe the sweat off on his outfit, but the wolf snaps its teeth in his face at the movement and he lets out a noise of fear as he drops the knife.

"I-I do-don't want t-t-to hurt you," Davy gasps at the mutt, desperate for anything to make it not attack him. "I don't w-want to die," he sobs. He never should have left that crack in the wall. He was safe there. And now…now his life is completely up to the Gamemakers deciding if they want him to live or not. He can only hope he didn't do anything to upset them…and that they don't want to have another death so soon after the start of the Games…

As much as he wants to curl up into a ball and cry, he stands straight as the wolf starts sniffing his face, its muzzle brushing against his hair. He has to keep pretending to be brave, even though he might just wet his pants in fear any second now.

The wolf moves its head away from his face and stares at him for another moment with its teeth bared, before its mouth relaxes and it gently head butts his chest. Davy blinks through his tears for a few seconds, confused on just what is happening, before slowly lifting up a hand, letting the wolf carefully watch each movement and see what he is doing. It sniffs his hand before tilting its head, offering the back of its head for Davy to pet. He slowly touches the dense fur, repeatedly moving over its head while his heart continues to beat rapidly out of fear that the wolves still might turn on him at any moment.

After a minute of him petting the wolf – and realizing just how _bizarre_ this whole thing is – it steps back from him and lets him have some space. He slowly takes a step into the room and can finally get a good look around at the space. Standing in the room are five wolf mutts, all standing at his height or taller. One stands guard over an item in the corner of the room, too far away for Davy to see what it is. But relief pours through him when he sees that there is a small fountain in the room with fresh water pouring through it. As long as they let him…he has one need taken care of. He'll still need to find food…but water is a bigger priority.

Before Davy can move further into the room, the wolf who stared him down – probably the alpha – nudges him on the arm and looks up at the ceiling. He follows its gaze as a hole opens and a silver canister drops down right in front of him, a 5 written on the side of it, making there be no doubt in his mind that this gift is for him.

Once again Davy can feel his eyes watering, but for the first time today, it's not out of fear for his life or pain of losing his allies and watching so much death. He can't help the tears of relief that someone out there cares enough about him to send him something. He doesn't care if it's the simplest item because _someone_ from the Capitol is supporting him.

"Thank you, Letha," Davy says quietly – or he hopes he said it quietly – as he sits down on the floor in front of the canister. The alpha wolf sits down with him and curls up around him, resting its head in his lap. Davy carefully reaches around the wolf, not wanting to do anything that could make it change its mood, and gently opens up the canister. Sitting on top is a note that he takes out first, and his tears only come faster when he reads the scrawling handwriting that he recognizes right away.

' _I'll be okay as long as you're okay – Leandro'_

"I promise I'll stay okay," Davy says aloud as he holds the note to his chest for a moment before tucking it into his pocket and making sure he won't lose it. He is going to hold onto that note for as long as he lives. He doesn't care what else is in that canister, that note alone is enough for him to be reminded of how needs to be brave and do whatever it takes to win.

But he is curious what they sent him and so he reaches back inside, finding something that looks like a watch, but…not. Davy moves it around in his hands, trying to figure out what it could possibly be. "I'm confused- oh!"

Davy figures it out right away as he watches lights appear on the screen when he spoke, not quite filling the line of lights halfway. He snaps his fingers and watches as more lights appear at the sound before quickly disappearing. He hums for a few seconds and a couple lights appear continuously, and disappear when he stops. A smile forms on his face as he slips the device onto his wrist, and even just the sound of him doing that makes one light appear and also a slight buzz against his wrist.

Davy has no clue how much this hearing device must have cost… Yet someone wanted him to have it. Someone just gave him a huge advantage to fight the Quell twist.

Maybe he's going to be better than okay.

* * *

 _Genesis Barrett, 17, District Ten_

As the adrenaline begins to wear off, Genesis starts to stumble over her feet as they keep running, all to get further from the careers. Exhaustion sets in quickly, yet she forces herself to keep moving, hearing Elias just behind her. She knows it was a risky choice to head up the stairs and staying outside, but she wants that vantage point. She wants to be able to see the careers approaching them.

But when she finally trips and lands hard on her knees, she doesn't feel the pain she knows she should feel. Elias cries out at her falling and she brings up a shaking hand to her mouth, motioning for him to stay quiet. Her hand drops down though as she doesn't have the strength to keep holding it up for too long. It's then that she realizes maybe she was hurt more than she thought. But how can she tell when she can't feel pain?

Genesis is starting to understand just how dangerous losing the sense of touch can be.

"Y-your back," Elias says quietly, unable to hold back tears as Genesis tries to sit up.

Genesis reaches around to her back, trying to figure out how badly she is hurt, and when her hands hit the arrow, she can feel pressure deep in her back from moving it. _That is not good…_ "Elias…I need you to help me with this."

"I do not know what to do," Elias tells her and Genesis tries to keep her face calm, knowing from being around young kids that showing her fear over injuries will only make them react worse, and Elias will surely react like her siblings. "I…I have never treated a wound like this before."

Genesis stares at her ally for a moment, terrified that her life is in the hands of someone who doesn't even know basic first aid. But what can she do? She can't exactly leave an arrow sticking out of her back. And…she's trusted him up to this point. What's the point of having an ally if she isn't going to let him help her? "Okay look at what we have in the bag," Genesis tells him calmly as she pulls herself over to the wall to lean against it, needing the support to stay upright. A bead of sweat drips down into her eye and she brushes her arm against her forehead to wipe away the sweat.

Elias complies with what she told him and starts carefully taking out the items in their bag, but he only takes out a small water bottle that is full and a loaf of bread. "That is all that is in there…"

"That's okay," Genesis reassures him, but she feels far from that. The food and water is good…if she can live long enough to need it. She tries to think about what to do now, but her brain is all muddled from the blood she must have lost. "Okay…we need to remove this arrow."

Elias nods his head, staring at her intently and paying full attention to every word she says. "I can do that."

"And then…" Genesis says before leaning her head against the wall, struggling to keep her eyes open. "H-hand me the water."

Elias quickly passes her the bottle and her hands shake so badly as she uncaps it that she starts to spill some of it over onto her hands. Elias reaches out and puts his hands over hers, steading the bottle as she takes a sip. "I am worried…"

"It will be fine," Genesis says, telling that to both herself and Elias. But she's not fooling herself. Odyssey hit her well, just as anyone would expect a career to do. But at least he didn't hit her in a fatal spot. She might survive this, but an arrow to the head? Game over. She lets Elias take the water from her hands and shuts her eyes for a moment. "Once the arrow is out, you're going to need to put pressure on the wound to stop it from bleeding. And then…then we figure out some way to bandage it…"

Genesis opens her eyes when Elias doesn't respond right away, finding him sitting in front of her and shaking his head at her. "I do not…" Elias stops talking and wipes at the tears in his eyes as he takes a shaky breath. He shakes his head at himself before meeting Genesis' gaze once more. "I will do my best. I…am sorry I do not know what I am doing. But I will try to do what Cecy would do. She takes care of me…and I will take care of you."

Genesis slowly smiles at him and he smiles in return, before she nods her head at him. "I believe you…"

Elias nods his head a few times and stares at her for a few more seconds, before moving to sit behind her. Genesis braces herself for the pain of the arrow being removed, before realizing she shouldn't feel anything. This might be the only time she's grateful for this sense being taken away. "Do I just pull on it?"

"Yeah," Genesis says quietly, shutting her eyes once more as it becomes too much effort to hold them open. Elias starts tugging on the arrow, pulling her back and she starts shaking her head at him. "Put one hand on my back to stop me from moving."

"I am sorry," Elias tells her and Genesis just waves her hand a little, too weak to care. Elias slowly places a hand on her back and all she can feel is the pressure, which she is glad about. If she had more energy to spend, she would have felt embarrassed for him touching her back, not having ever had someone touch her like that before. But being in the arena with an arrow sticking out of her back has made her only feel a slight blush of embarrassment that quickly disappears when Elias gives a hard tug on her back.

Elias sets the arrow down on the ground and Genesis glances over at it, her eyes widening and her stomach turning when she sees how far up the arrow her blood goes. "You are bleeding, what do I do?" Elias asks, panic quickly filling his voice.

Genesis tries to keep herself calm, but it's hard to when she is staring at an arrow that was just embedded a few inches into her back. "Put pressure on it!"

"Okay!" Elias answers right away and puts both hands over the wound, nearly pushing her over from how hard he is pushing on her back.

Genesis reaches out and braces herself on the wall, but the world soon starts spinning around her. "I need to lay down," she gasps out before starting to slouch forward. Elias stops her from slamming into the ground and she leans her head against the cool stone as he resumes putting pressure on her wound. "Just keep…keep doing that for a while."

"How long is a while?" Elias asks her and Genesis turns her head to look over at him. His white toga is now stained with her blood, bringing a chill of terror down her spine when she sees how much is there. She looks up at his face and knows right away she can't let her fear show, not when he looks so terrified himself.

"Until it stops bleeding," Genesis whispers to him before shutting her eyes to hide her fear from him. They fall into silence as Elias keeps putting pressure on her wound and her mind starts to wander as she thinks about how serious this is. She very well could die from this wound… They don't have bandages or anything to keep out infection or stitch it up. No one from the Capitol is helping them… She had started to think maybe the Capitol wasn't all that bad, but being placed in the arena and getting hurt has backtracked all of that. If they were good, why would they let her suffer like this?

Her father must be right about them…but unlike back in Ten, he isn't here to keep her safe. All she has is Elias.

"Thank you," Genesis mumbles to him, realizing she never would have survived this if she didn't have him as an ally. She wouldn't have been able to get the arrow out on her own, and if she somehow managed to, she never would have stopped the bleeding. But now…now she has a chance of living. She opens her eyes to look at him, finding her vision blurry from tears. "For helping me."

"You are welcome," Elias tells her, smiling down at her. He starts to hum a song, a soothing melody, and Genesis shuts her eyes once more as she just listens to the song. She almost recognizes it, but can't quite put a name to it.

"What is that song?" Genesis asks him softly and he stops humming right away, causing her to look at him once more.

Elias takes his time answering her. "I do not know the name. Cecy sings it when she fixes my injuries."

"From the fighting?" Genesis asks him.

"Yes…" Elias says slowly to her and from the conversation with the President, she knows the pain those memories bring him. She reaches out and awkwardly puts a hand on his knee, trying to give him a bit of comfort in return. But he doesn't look sad right now as he thinks back to his life in Six. "Her singing makes me feel…calm…as she helps. I like when she does that so I thought you would too. But I can stop…"

"No, keep humming," Genesis says quickly, seeing him starting to look upset about her response. "It is helping… You're helping so much."

Elias nods his head slowly before resuming his humming, and Genesis shuts her eyes once more, happy that she has him with her. She really doesn't know what she would do without him in this arena.

She might just make it with his help.

* * *

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

When Seraphim slowly comes to and he squints up at the blinding lights above him, a face quickly blocks the lights. A face that is the last person he expected to see right now.

"Wh-what?" Seraphim asks in confusion as Zephyr helps him sit up. Seraphim rubs his eyes, part of him believing that he's still knocked out and this is some dream. There's no way that his boyfriend is actually in the Games Headquarters with him right now. Unless they moved him somewhere else – but no, Laelia is looking back at him in concern, standing in the spot where he usually is to direct the Gamemakers. "Did you-?"

Laelia shakes her head at this, looking very concerned about him and not making a comment about Zephyr like she normally would. "No, I didn't."

"I did."

Seraphim blinks as he looks over at the President of Panem sitting in a chair nearby, watching him with concern as Rosabella paces behind him. Seraphim quickly stands up with the help of Zephyr, feeling uncomfortable sitting on the ground in front of the President. The President leans closer to Seraphim, "When it's a matter of health and safety, the partner should be informed."

"Thank you," Seraphim says quietly to him as Zephyr puts a hand on his shoulder and gives it a squeeze.

"But please don't pass out again," Zephyr tells him, his joking tone unable to mask the fear in his eyes. "Scared me half to death."

"I'll try not to," Seraphim answers as he puts a hand over Zephyr's, giving him a reassuring smile for a moment before turning back to the President and sighing. "But I'm guessing things aren't good if you are in here."

"The Games are running smoothly," President Xavier tells him and relief pours through Seraphim. "Miss Hyperion has done an excellent job stepping into your shoes and keeping things running."

"What did I miss? Did anyone die? Are we still on track for the arena event?" Seraphim asks quickly, looking between Laelia and the President. "And just how long was I out for?"

"Laelia will fill you in later," President Xavier answers and Seraphim looks at Laelia, wanting to know but also knowing he can't go against the President. "You've been out for a couple hours. And there are things that have happened that we need to discuss."

"Adam," Seraphim whispers and President Xavier nods his head. "Is my mom safe?"

"Theodosius is with Tara and Cain and has promised nothing will happen to them," President Xavier tries to reassure him, but Seraphim isn't going to stop worrying about his mother until he knows the rebel threat is done. "We have not found Adam yet…there's no clue about where they have taken him since his tracker has been destroyed."

Seraphim can feel the blood drain from his face at the realization of what the might mean for Adam. "But the trackers aren't just for knowing their location…"

President Xavier sighs at this and Seraphim looks around to see everyone else looking sad so they must have realized this already. "It's a sad consequence, but if he is alive, that is what matters at this point and when we get him back, we can try to figure something out."

"You said when…"

"I did," President Xavier nods. "Luciano is hopeful that they can find out what happened. They are heading out to Seven and are willing to compromise their position as a double agent to negotiate with them."

"We should probably try contacting them again," Rosabella speaks up and President Xavier nods his head in agreement.

"Indeed," he responds before standing up. "I'll keep you up to date if there is a major change but for now, please focus on the Games. Consider no news as good news."

"Okay," Seraphim says slowly, not sure if he'll be able to focus only on the Games. Not when his mother is at risk. The President nods at him before he heads out with Rosabella, and Seraphim watches the door close before turning to look at Zephyr and Laelia. "What has happened?"

"Uh, not too much in the arena," Laelia tells him, glancing over at the screens of the tributes. "No deaths, but Genesis is still at risk. If she survives the night, she'll have a lot higher chance of living. Careers have gone out but didn't find anyone yet. Amelia and Fox are now allies. Davy has found and befriended the wolves as per our discussion that whoever found the animals first would be allowed to stay with them, excluding Holly. And also, I didn't want to see him get mauled to death by a wolf mutt."

"How nice of you," Seraphim mutters sarcastically and Zephyr snorts next to him. He clears his throat when Laelia pouts at him, "Kidding, that was the right call. We can wait with other deaths right now and I'm sure the crowd likes it."

"Oh they do," Laelia nods her head. "He even got a sense item."

"Ah, so someone paid that hefty price," Seraphim raises an eyebrow at this as he had been unsure of anyone paying for one of the five items. "What about the other tributes? Anything notable?"

Laelia shakes her head at him. "Nope. All the others have stayed in the same spot."

"Good, I didn't miss out on too much."

"Oh you should probably go talk to Stefan," Laelia says to Seraphim casually and when he raises his eyebrows at her, she looks down at her hands. "He uh…came here after the bloodbath and tried to come in so he could ask 'what that fucking bullshit was'. His words, not mine."

Seraphim sighs loudly at this, honestly not that surprised by Stefan acting that way, and Zephyr laughs as he hugs Seraphim. "I can go handle him. You have your job to do."

"Thank you," Seraphim whispers to him and Zephyr leans over to give him a kiss on the cheek, making the Head Gamemaker start blushing immediately because he still isn't used to this happening. "He's just concerned about Adam…"

"I know," Zephyr tells him. "Trust me, I know more than you know what it's like being a mentor. Just focus on getting through these Games. I need you to stay safe, okay?"

"I'm going to," Seraphim reassures him, and also himself. Everything will be fine…right? Yet he finds himself rubbing the spot on his arm, all too aware of how things could go wrong. Hopefully Adam will be the last thing that goes wrong… But somehow, he doubts it will be. Not until the rebels get what they want.

He only hopes that doesn't include the death of him and his loved ones.

* * *

 **There we have Day One! Just a bit of calm after the bloodbath happened, but still lots of exciting things. We have our first sense item sponsored and there are still four more up for grabs! I wouldn't wait too long if you're thinking about it because things are going to kick into high gear...**

 **So we have a look at some of the tributes! Do you think Amelia and Fox will work well together? Which pair in the career buddy system will be the most dysfunctional? Will Genesis survive her injury? And what was the item in the room with Davy that the wolves are guarding?**

 **And of course, we had a little subplot update too... What could be the consequence with Adam?**

 **Sponsoring is still open so get those items in! Also on my profile I have a poll up about who you think will be the victor. This is for me to judge who is the front runners from the audience perspective so please vote!**

 **I will see you all hopefully soon with Night One!**


	33. Night One: The Gift

**Chapter 29:**

 _Night One_

 _Fete Bayard, 18, District Eight_

The tears have long since dried up on his cheeks, leaving him with a pounding headache from crying so much. He stopped crying hours ago and was left with just an empty hole in his chest. All he can do now is curl up near the warm forge and stare at the door, numb and waiting for someone to come in here and end it for him. Maybe he should just go find some poisoned food. He wouldn't know it was poisoned anyways. Probably would be less painful than getting stabbed by a career.

 _Or shot in the neck with an arrow._

And just like that, the tears have come back instantly and Fete holds in a sob as he uses his arms to wipe at his cheeks, bitterly reminded that it's all his fault. His best friend is gone and he's to blame. He was calling for her and made her run right into Anastacia. He could have gotten there faster and tried to help her. He could have done more for her than just sleep during training. But now it's too late. Atropa is…she's _gone._

She's gone and with her she took District Eight's chance of getting another victor. Fete knows he never had a shot at winning, no matter what Astrid and Clark tried to tell him. He was always going to make sure that Atropa was set up to win. But now…Fete shakes his head at himself and wraps his arms around himself, desperately wishing for the comfort of his home and being surround by his family that always knew when he was upset and would cuddle with him. But he has no one. No allies. No cats. He doesn't even have any damn supplies. He doubts there will be anyone sponsoring him. Why would anyone support the boy that got a 1 in training?

He's…pitiful. A poor, pitiful excuse of a friend.

Atropa wouldn't have sat around moping like him if he had died instead – _God_ , he wishes he would have died in her place and given her the chance to win. She would have understood that his death would have to happen for her to eventually win and she would have been doing her best to set herself up for victory. She probably would have even had sponsors.

"It's all my fault," Fete groans to himself as he shuts his eyes and leans his head back before starting to hit it against the wall. Maybe he can give himself a headache on the back of his head to balance out the throbbing ache in his forehead from crying. "So stupid to sit here crying…wasting water when I have nothing."

Yet he can't bring himself to stop being such a pitiful mess of a human being. He just feels so…numb, and even the thought of moving is too much. Someone could walk through the door right now and he wouldn't be able to muster up the energy to even try to run away from them.

"I'm sorry…" Fete whispers to himself as tears slip down his cheeks, unable to work up the energy to wipe them away. "I'm sorry I wasn't a better friend…"

What Atropa ever saw in him…he'll never know. But he clearly proved that she was wrong to ever put her faith in him. Yet deep down, way deep down to a point where he barely wants to admit it to himself…he knows she isn't blaming him. She would tell him that it was simply her fate to die in the bloodbath and it wasn't his fault. And that just makes it worse.

It's easier to keep blaming himself than accept that it wasn't his fault.

Fete opens his eyes and scoffs at himself as he shakes his head. Of course it's his fault. "Sorry to disappoint you, but Eight isn't going to get back to back victors." Fete wraps his arms tighter around himself as he stares out into the room, the chunks of metal waiting to get melted in the forge next to him, the molds that are weapon shaped. Any tribute that was actually competent could use this to make themselves a weapon if they didn't get one in the bloodbath… Good thing he isn't competent.

Fete scrunches his face at a soft sound echoing in the room, using a finger to rub his ear, thinking he surely is imagining it. Because why would _anyone_ want to sponsor this pitiful mess and support him? Yet the sound gets louder and Fete blinks a few times in shock as the small silver canister lands in front of him with a soft thud, the parachute settling around it and blocking the number on the side of it. Fete knows it can't be for him – surely not even Astrid and Clark could convince Capitolites to spend money on him. Yet…he finds himself slowly reaching towards it and brushing aside the parachute to see the number on the side of it.

He holds his breathe for a moment, before he soon can't see the number 8 on the side from the tears building up once more. "I don't deserve this…"

Yet he can't stop himself from pulling the canister into his lap, a small bit of curiosity bubbling up in him and, well…a small flicker of hope that's quickly overwhelmed by the crippling sadness that's filled him since the Games started. As he pops open the container, a small bit of steam rises up, bringing with it a smell that takes him back to home, times when he was sick as a child and his mom would make him some soup before tucking him into bed and give him a kiss on the forehead before heading out to meet with a client. Or to the times after his surgery when Atropa would come over and help him cook dinner so he didn't survive on only cereal for months…

Fete's hands are shaking from the memories that a stupid thing of soup brings him as he reaches in and his fingers brush up against a piece of paper. He has to wipe at his eyes a few times to actually see the scrawled writing on the paper, and even then, it takes a few attempts to understand it. One would think that someone who is studying art would have better handwriting…

' _I know it's easy to blame yourself right now but it's not your fault…and you're not alone. We're all supporting you here. -Clark'_

For a moment, all Fete can do is stare blankly at the paper in his shaking hands, until he suddenly crumbles up the piece of paper in anger and tosses it into the fire next to him, not believing what Clark said. How could it not be his fault? He was the one yelling at Atropa and having her follow his voice. And one look around the room shows he's as alone as it gets. The two people he might have actually allied with if he wasn't too scared to ask them…one of them is _gone_ and the other is who knows where in this arena. Fete will never find him. He's alone.

"You're wasting your time," Fete angrily says to his mentors before letting out a yell of frustration as he throws the container across the room at the wall where they had shown the faces of the dead tributes. The soup thermos falling out and just adding to the series of loud bangs as the metal hits the stone walls.

Fete curls up on the ground, letting heavy sobs escape as he holds onto himself, a sad pitiful mess of a tribute. How long will it be until someone finds him? He isn't exactly being quiet. How long until he proves to Clark and Astrid that they made a mistake by supporting him?

He stares blankly at the door across from him, just wondering who it will be that finally finds him. Maybe there's a chance whoever it is will take pity on him. Unless it's a career. Then they'll just take him out of his misery and get themselves one step closer to winning. There won't be a repeat of last year when a tribute from Eight took out a career…

Suddenly the door knob starts jiggling and Fete sits up, scrambling over to the corner of the room in a pitiful attempt to hide as fear takes over him. He pulls his knees up to his chest and holds on tightly as he stares at the door with wide eyes, waiting for whoever it is to walk through and find him. He didn't expect to feel this sort of fear in him when there's actually a possibility of running into another tribute.

No matter everything he was just saying…he doesn't actually want to die.

* * *

 _Major Emerson-Ness, 18, District One_

Major stands back, watching as Odyssey struggles with the door, his arms crossed and trying to fight of the annoyed look that has been threatening to appear ever since he got paired up with Odyssey. Odyssey keeps trying to jiggle the handle of the door, even putting his shoulder into it, yet it won't budge. It's the fifth locked door they have come across tonight and it might be time for them to finally admit that the Gamemakers are stopping them from going into rooms.

"I think they want it locked for a reason," Major finally says to Odyssey, no doubt letting a bit of his annoyance slip into his voice. But not like he can actually tell… That's part of why he's annoyed in the first place. How is he supposed to pull the strings with the other careers and get them to turn against each other when he can't even hear what they're saying? It hadn't taken long for the little bit of paranoia to start creeping in, filling him with doubts as he stood around with his allies and couldn't participate in their conversation. Were they talking about him? Plotting against him? Hard to say, and he doubts it as he's been careful up to this point to not let them see what he's been up to. And yet…the bit of paranoia is there, deep inside of him, making him doubt himself, which really is a first for him.

Basically, none of this is how he planned it and he does not like it.

Odyssey turns back to him, shrugging his shoulders and grinning as he says something to him, no doubt another one of his terrible jokes. Well, if there's one good thing about losing his hearing, it's the fact that Major no longer has to pretend to laugh at Odyssey's jokes. Odyssey holds up one finger to Major, telling him to wait, and he turns back towards the door, stares at it for a few seconds before kicking at it.

Yet the door stays shut, only making Odyssey start hobbling around on the foot he used, shaking his head and surely laughing a little.

"Nice job," Major tells him, shaking his head as Odyssey picks up the notepad from the ground to write something to Major. "That worked so well."

'I thought I would look cool if it worked,' Odyssey shows him the note and Major just stares at him blankly, fighting the urge to roll his eyes. How this boy got picked as the leader of the career pack over Major is beyond him. And seriously, what was District Two thinking in sending him in? But then again, the others probably are thinking the same thing about One picking him. Which just makes him even more cautious and certain that he has to do everything possible to sabotage him.

Major shakes his head at Odyssey, trying to push back the self-doubt that's been hovering at the back of his mind since the adrenaline from the bloodbath faded away and he realized the magnitude of just what it means to have lost his hearing. "Let's keep moving, maybe we'll find a door that the Gamemakers will let us go into."

Odyssey gives him the 'ok' hand gesture before motioning him to walk first to watch Major's back since he obviously can't hear anyone approaching, but the whole thing has him on edge. He's studied all sorts of career betrayals over the years. This is the most classic setup to stab someone in the back. Yet part of him still doubts that the drama queen would do that…but the fact that there is any worry has him on edge. If anyone is going to betray someone in the career pack, it's going to be him.

They continue down the curving path lit by candles, and Major lets the annoyance show on his face towards this whole situation. Only the first night and he already feels like he's letting down his parents. He failed to become the leader of the careers – and even though he hates to admit it, their logic is right about not having a leader without their hearing… But the leader should have been _him._ People don't expect the leader of the pack to turn against the others because they're supposed to be, well, _leading_ them. He can't hold a conversation with the others to turn them against each other, not in a discrete way. He can't even go hunting for tributes without needing someone to watch his back to make sure no one is sneaking behind him.

He's failing and he hates it. This is everything his parents have trained him to do and he's failing at all their lessons. He didn't get Two to fully fracture – no doubt because of the drama queen, how could _anyone_ possibly stay mad at him? Major rolls his eyes at this thought and stops himself from shaking his head, not wanting Odyssey to question it. He got the boy with social anxiety to trust him and that's it. Anastacia has succeeded in getting Delta on her side before Major could do anything. _He's failing to Anastacia._ Fuck.

Were his parents wrong in putting their faith in his ability to destroy the other tributes? No…they can't be wrong. He won't let them be wrong. All his life, this is what they have pushed him towards and he will not let them down. He will finally bring glory to the Emerson-Ness names. And then when he gets home, he'll have their praise for winning in the thing they never got to compete in.

Someone suddenly pulls on the back of Major's toga, bringing him to a stop and kicking in the years of training Major has. He turns around quickly, bow notched and aimed in a moment, but he relaxes his arms when it's just Odyssey standing there, his arms raised defensively to show he wasn't trying to hurt Major. It would be so easy to kill him now…just claim it was an accident as he heads back up to the others, doing his best to cry fake tears of guilt. _'Oh I don't know what happened! I got spooked and acted on instincts and shot my arrow before realizing it was him!'_ Would they believe him? Demarcus surely would. Bell would probably thank him for getting rid of the boy that broke her heart – which was his doing, but that's beside the point.

 _Not yet, Major. The slow victories are always the best._

No…if he didn't kill Anastacia when he had the perfect chance to – and he very well could have, he is the top archer in the entire year in One – he won't kill Odyssey yet. He'll get the others to see that he's not a good person like they all think and let them turn against him. Or he'll push him to do something rash. Either way, he will be the cause of Odyssey's downfall.

Once Major relaxes his arms, Odyssey points over to where two silver canisters have landed on the ground, one painted with a 1 and the other with a 2, making it very clear who they are meant for. Good, finally someone is acknowledging him. Major is smirking a little as Odyssey grabs his canister, saying something about it as he pops open the lid as Major picks up his. He reads over a note, smiling to himself before tucking it away in his pocket, making Major look into his and scoff at the note he finds.

' _Don't be an idiot and cause the downfall of One this year.'_

Major quickly crumbles up the note and puts it in his pocket, not wanting Odyssey to see it, before looking back over at him. Even though he is deaf, he can still tell that Odyssey has burst out in laughter as he puts on an octopus hat, making the smirk fade from Major's face as he pulls out what can only be a squid hat from his container. "I'm not wearing it," Major says as he tosses the hat over at Odyssey, pouting at the fact that the sponsors and _Emilio_ are mocking him by giving him something matching with Odyssey. Here he was starting to think that Emilio was actually cool and his parents weren't completely justified in their hatred towards him, but not anymore. "Thanks a lot, Emilio."

Major crosses his arms as Odyssey scribbles something out to him, still laughing to himself. 'You have to wear it, we can't disappoint the sponsors who sent it.'

Fuck…he has a point. But still, he doesn't want to share the hats with _Odyssey_ of all people. Yet he doesn't really have a choice, does he? Odyssey takes his silence as a sign he agrees and puts the hat on his head, only making Major start angrily shaking his head. But this just makes the situation worse when the tentacles of the squid hat start moving back and forth, hitting him in the face and making Odyssey crack up.

"Whatever, let's keep moving," Major pouts as he turns around, trying not to let Odyssey see just how angry he is right now and would like to send an arrow right through his head and the stupid octopus hat he now wears. _Patience, Major,_ he reminds himself. He will get his time and it will be all the greater when it does happen. But he knows one thing for sure.

Major can't wait to bring down Odyssey.

* * *

 _Sky Odum, 13, District Nine_

Sky has slept in some really miserable places over the last year. She's slept in literal piles of garbage, hiding behind the trash bags in the dead of summer, because no one would look to see if there was a kid sleeping in there. She's huddled for warmth in the dead of winter when the temperatures dropped and she had to hide in whatever cracks she could find to protect herself from the harsh wind. But nothing could compare to the hell that is this arena.

She can't make herself sleep in this shitty arena. Not when it's bringing up so many memories and making her feel so many things. Because…

Because she's _scared_. She never thought she would feel this way entering the arena, not with all the pent up anger that's been inside of her all year… But being in the bloodbath and seeing a tribute explode right before her eyes – reminding her so much of the death that made stupid Marek go running towards his District partner last year – it just…brought all the pain she had pushed so deep down up to the surface, pain she swore she would never let see the light of day. At the end of the day, no matter how much she tells herself she hates Marek for what he did to her…

Sky still very much cares and misses him.

"Stupid," Sky mumbles to herself, hating that she cares. Why can't she make herself completely focus on the pain he caused her and forget the years of happy memories the two of them shared? She shakes her head at herself, but quickly stops and puts a hand to it, groaning at the pain from where she slammed her head when she was thrown back by the blast. Her vision blurs for a moment and she has to take a few breaths as she feels like she might throw up from the pain of it. Her head got fucked up from that blast…

Great, she's both physically and emotionally in pain. She doesn't know what part hurts more… Probably the pain from Marek that led to her making the decision to volunteer for this in the first place. And what has that even accomplished? All she's done is be reminded of Marek at every turn. She didn't get to kill a career in the bloodbath like she promised she would do. All she's done is possibly give herself a concussion.

As her eyes well up in tears from all the pain, it's time for her to finally admit to herself that she might have made a mistake… She's not getting revenge for Marek's death. The person that killed him has been dead for a year. And now she's starting to doubt that even killing this year's career from One would even do much.

What was she even thinking? But that's the problem…she wasn't thinking when she stepped forward and volunteered. She was full of so much rage seeing the escort on the stage that picked Marek and sent him to his death last year. Anger towards the boy that left her behind. But now…what was the point? He's gone…he's gone and nothing she ever does is going to change the fact that he was a selfless dumbass who sacrificed himself for the sake of his ally…

And that was precisely the reason that made her love him in the first place.

Her hands shake as she reaches into her pocket and pulls out the beat up playing card that she still hasn't been able to throw out at this point and is starting to think she'll never be able to. Not when it's the last little piece of Marek she still has. She runs a finger over the red heart and can hear his stupid voice in her head. _"You're number one!"_ But she wasn't…he was her number one, but she was never his. And now he's dead, and she might be soon too because she stupidly volunteered for the Games to get revenge for him wronging her.

A drop of water lands on the card, cleaning away some of the dirt on it, soon followed by more drops, and it takes a moment for Sky to realize it's her tears. She wipes them off the card, trying not to damage it, before wiping at her eyes and choking on a sob. She hasn't been this scared and terrified since she first heard Marek's name get called out. For a year she's been haunted by his ghost and the memories…

Sky puts the card away, unable to keep looking at it, before slowly bringing herself to her feet. The world spins around her and she puts her hand on the bedpost to steady herself, before slowly walking towards the door. She can't keep sitting here without doing anything. If she lets herself just stay put…she'll never be able to move again and just get sucked into the pain of losing the only person she cared about. And she'd rather die than keep reliving that pain over and over again.

She stumbles to the door and holds onto the handle for a moment to steady herself, glancing back at the room full of uncomfortable beds lined up in a military style. She could have picked a worse room to stumble into after the bloodbath, but also the room provides no food or water. Things she needs soon.

Sky heads back into the long hallway, not even glancing either way before heading right, keeping her hand against the wall for stability. She's so slow walking and has no idea how much noise she is making, yet she can't bring herself to care. All she can focus on still is the sinking feeling building in her stomach that she was also a dumbass like Marek for volunteering.

Both dumbasses, how perfect for each oth- _no._ Sky stops and leans against the wall, wiping hard at her eyes to stop the stupid tears she can't seem to stop. She won't finish that thought. That possibility is _long_ gone. "He didn't deserve you and you deserve better than a dumbass like him," Sky whispers to herself before pushing herself from the wall and continuing on to the door she can see up ahead. She focuses entirely on that door, not even glancing into the stairwell as she walks past it, trying her best to keep her mind from wandering to the past.

Without much thinking, she pushes open the door and stumbles into the room. She stares around it, her stomach beginning to rumble when she sees the barrels full of fruit and vegetables, the fountain of water, the table in the center piled high with food. Her feet start moving towards the table without thought, but she freezes up when she catches movement in the corner of her eye.

Arthur is faced somewhat in her direction, clutching a silver thermos that could only come from sponsors, saying something she can't hear. His head turns as he scans the room, and Sky holds her breath, recognizing the signs of someone who can't see. He takes a hesitant step in a direction away from her and Sky glances between the food, Arthur, and the door.

She knows what the smart decision would be…but Sky has never made the smartest decisions – that's how she ended up here. But how does one sneakily grab food from a blind person when they can't even tell how much noise they're making?

Sky takes slow steps over to the table, doing her best to make little noise, pretending she is back in Nine and trying to pick the pocket of a stranger to get a little money so she can eat for the week. And really, this isn't much different. Arthur keeps walking around the room, turning his head repeatedly and holding the thermos in front of him defensively, doing his best to hear her.

She reaches the table and stands still as he stops a few feet away from her, at the other end of the table with his head tilted to the side as he stands still. She waits like that for a few minutes before slowly growing impatient. Sky starts reaching out and picking up apples from the table, holding them in her arms and constantly glancing back over at Arthur. Her hunger grows with each apple she grabs and she grows hyper focused at the prospect of food. She can't help but be greedy about it and grab as much as she possibly can now. It's a force of habit after a year of scrambling to get whatever food she could.

When her arms can simply hold no more, she slowly starts backing up from the table, keeping her eye on Arthur. She gets halfway to the door and he still hasn't moved, giving her comfort that she isn't making noise to alert herself. She lets out a sigh of relief before realizing how terrible of a mistake that was when Arthur turns in her direction. She doesn't have time to dodge the thermos as he throws it at her and she cries out in pain from it hitting her shoulder, forcing her to drop most of the apples from her arms. He runs over to her and she kicks out her foot, tripping him and bringing him to the ground before turning and running out of the room.

Her shoulder is throbbing in pain as she runs back into the room she had left not long ago and shuts the door with her foot before sliding down it to the ground. She drops the few apples she managed to still hold onto and cries out at the movement to her shoulder. Slowly, she brings her other hand up to it and rubs the spot, making her eyes well up with tears.

Everything has been going wrong for her… Why did she ever volunteer for these Games?

* * *

 _Holly Alder, 17, District Seven_

Holly knows she has to get moving, yet fear has immobilized her in place for hours and hours. How does one possibly get the courage to move when she's absolutely certain the Gamemakers will not allow her to live? How long will it be until they send Delta after her or some terrifying mutt to guarantee her death? She's terrified of both happening…she could barely sleep last night after the party as her brain just kept repeating over and over and over again Delta cornering her in the bathroom and the threats she made… She _knows._ She knows who Holly really is. She knows she isn't Carameuse. If she knows that…there's only a small handle of people that could have told her that – maybe more, if the coded phrases she slipped into the interviews worked and the rebels know she's here. Yet from Delta's tone…Holly doubts the career is with the rebels. Which means the people who told Delta have to be…

Delta is clearly working for the President…

Which means Holly needs to find a way out of here, if that's even possible… She knows the rebels have members in the Capitol and in the construction of the arena, but will they have a way to get her out? Do they even want to help her escape? …Do they even _know_ that she's here?

No…she can't let herself start thinking that they don't know about her… She has to stay hopeful. The rebels are going to get her out of here. They'll find a way to sneak her out of here and get her back home to her family and she can go back to being Holly Alder, not Carameuse Juniper. She just has to stay away from the careers until then.

Yet she can't stay here for much longer… If she does, she'll just be a sitting target for Delta or the Gamemakers. The Capitol never likes tributes that just stay put and don't do anything. So as much as just the thought of moving gives her anxiety, she knows she has to. She must stay alive until the rebels can get her out.

Holly runs a fingertip down the spine of her journal, knowing what she should do… She doesn't dare bring out the piece of paper here, not when the cameras are watching her every move and the Gamemakers will be alerted right away to the information she holds. Information she was supposed to transport from one rebel to another back in Seven on the day she ran into Carameuse and accidentally killed the girl before pretending to be her in a moment of panic… Which she never should have done. They wouldn't have known it was Holly that killed her, there was no reason for them to figure it out. And if she hadn't…she wouldn't have been picked.

But others knew that she was under the identity of Carameuse. Joseph recognized her. That Peacekeeper who let her pass through as Carameuse at the Reaping surely must have known from the device that she was really Holly Alder. Not just the Capitol knows who she is…she _has_ to keep having hope.

And if that means using the arena map that got her into this in the first place, then she will. She hadn't wanted to get her hopes up after being reaped that she really did have a map of this year's arena. Not until she saw for herself. And her map has been true so far. Which means she should get to the basement and find one of the five sense items they've hidden in the arena for them. She doesn't know which one is in which room, but regardless if she finds the one for smell, it will be a good bargaining item if she runs into another tribute, and that might just keep her alive.

It's decided then, she has her plan. Holly takes a few deep breaths, getting herself the courage to move from her hiding place. Yet the seconds pass into minutes, and she remains frozen in place by her fear. Fear of running into Delta or a mutt – or both at the same time if the Gamemakers wanted to be particularly cruel to her. She knows what she must do, yet she can't physically bring herself to do it. Why can't she force herself to do what she has to do? It could mean life or death for her…

 _Just move, Holly._

But just as she's willing herself to start inching out of her hiding place, the sound of bickering voices drift over to her, completely freezing her up.

"Anastacia, would you please hurry up?"

"I'm trying, but in case you forgot, I'm _blind_."

Holly recognizes the first of the two annoyed voices right away, even as they drift away from her. She will never forget the voice of the person that told her she wouldn't make it out of the arena alive. After all, that voice kept her awake last night.

As Delta and Anastacia keep walking away from her, Holly's fear finally pushes her into moving and she quickly slips out of the crack where she was hiding, heading in the opposite direction of the two careers to put as much space as possible between them. Her pace keeps quickening as she heads towards one of the five staircases, yet she tries not to run. She doesn't know how loud running would be and she doesn't want to bring Delta right to her. And from her annoyed tone…surely they're out hunting for her. Why couldn't Delta have been one of the tributes to lose their sight or hearing? Well, Holly knows why…the Capitol probably made sure their supporter didn't lose one of her most crucial senses. Holly's a little surprised they didn't make her lose one of those two.

Holly makes it to the staircase and glances back, almost certain she'll find the careers chasing her. But they're out of her sight. She doesn't stick around long enough for them to find her and she slips down the stairs, taking it slow at first to avoid notifying the careers at their camp of her presence. They might not have a grudge against her, but they will still kill any tribute they come across.

But once she slips underground without notifying them to her presence, she picks up her pace. At the bottom, she runs to the door right across from the staircase…only to find it firmly locked. "No…" Holly whispers to herself, shaking her head as she steps back from it. She glances up and down the hallway, before heading down it one path, trying every door she comes across in the inner ring where the sense items should be. Yet each one is locked to her.

She stops after the third door, finally letting her frustration rise to the surface. Her eyes start to water as she stares at the locked door in front of her. Of course…why would the Gamemakers let her get into one of the rooms with the most valuable items in the arena? They know who she is and won't want her to win. They won't give a rebel their most precious supply when instead they can-

 _Boom._

She lets out a gasp of surprise at the sound of the cannon and quickly covers up her mouth. She frantically starts glancing around her to make sure no one heard her, before her eyes land on another spot to hide. She runs over to the crevice and squeezes into it, holding her breath and shutting her eyes as she counts to ten, waiting for someone to find her. But the seconds pass in silence and she opens her eyes, only finding darkness and no tributes, and lets out the air.

She will just have to search for a room to hide in another time. She won't be leaving there when the careers will all be up and moving soon.

* * *

 _Elias Pilkvist, 17, District Six_

The sound of a cannon firing startles Elias out of his sleep and he blinks a few times before rubbing his eyes, trying to get himself reoriented with his surroundings. The cannon has his heart racing in fear, knowing that tributes are out hunting and they have found and killed someone. Doing the thing that his parents and brother tried to train him to do for years and once he was finally free of them, he ended up in the very thing he thought he was free from. Elias scans the area around them, the sky starting to get light with the rising sun and providing him with light to see. He leans over to look down below and can feel himself relaxing a little at the sight of the campfire blazing down below where the careers are. They are still there…well, four of them are, which brings a frown to his face. Where the other two are, he does not know…but if a cannon just fired, they are probably the reason for it, which means they should be a good distance away from them.

"I think we are safe," Elias says quietly as he turns back to face their small, makeshift camp. He leans back against the pillar once more, feeling his eyes struggling to stay open, but his mind too active to go back to sleep. "It is nearly morning. Do you think we should move today?"

Elias waits for a response from Genesis, but she stays quiet. "What do you think?" Elias asks as he looks over at where his ally still lays, a little surprised to find her still sleeping. But he does not want to disturb her and wake her up if she is sound asleep, knowing how much she struggled in the first place to sleep. "A few more minutes," Elias says quietly to himself.

Elias sits there in silence, watching as the sun starts to lighten the sky, and he finds himself smiling a little at how pretty the sky has turned. Living in the city back in Six, the nights were always filled with city lights, blocking out the stars, and the sunrise was blocked by the tall buildings. But not here. There is nothing to stop him from taking in the sunrise.

"Is this what it is like back in Ten?" Elias asks Genesis, turning to look over at his ally. As he stares at her, he notices how pale she has become and begins to frown as he turns his attention to her wound, finding her toga soaked through with blood. "Genesis?" He asks as he moves over to her, reaching out to shake her arm. "Genesis, wake up."

But as he shakes her, she makes no movement or sign of waking up. "Come on, Genesis, please wake up," Elias whispers as he starts using both hands to shake her. But she is limp and when he rolls her over, her eyes are still shut. He sits back, his hands shaking as he stares at her, not seeing any rise of her chest as she takes in air. "Please…" He pleads with her, putting his head down to listen for the beating of her heart, the sound of breath, _any_ sign of life…

But all he hears is silence until the sound of his own sobs start to fill the air.

"Do not leave me," Elias sobs as he grabs onto her, holding her desperately as he sobs against her shoulder. He does not want to believe that the cannon that woke him up was for Genesis… He cannot handle the thought of losing his ally, his friend…the second person in his life to actually care about him. He thought they had stopped the bleeding on her wound and she would survive… He does not understand what he did wrong. What has he done to deserve this? Or everything in his life from his family? Uncontrollable sobs build up in him and Elias cries out, slowly rocking back and forth as he holds on to Genesis, unable to process everything going through him.

"I do not want to be alone!" Elias chokes out through his sobs as tears pour down his cheeks. Immense fear builds up in him at just the thought of being alone within the arena, fear for himself and what he might do. He does not want to become the person his parents were training him to be…and without Genesis with him, he does not know what will happen to him.

And that scares him more than death.

"Why?!" Elias screams, picking up his head to scream at the sky he had just been admiring a few minutes ago, unaware that his ally was already gone next to him. Why did she have to be killed? She was good, like Cecy… She was his _friend._

Elias stares up at the sky through his tears, still letting out sobs of pain. Never before has he felt this kind of sadness before. He did not cry when his family left him. That had given him freedom. He did not cry like this when he said goodbye to Cecy, believing her promise that he would make it out alive and back home to her. He has never known this loss before and he would not wish this on anyone.

"Genesis, please…" Elias pleads once more, a soft whisper as he stares at the sky, as if he could will her to wake up once more. But he knows this will not happen. She is gone.

"Ow, Delta, what the hell?"

Elias turns his head immediately at the sound of the tributes, finding Delta pushing aside Anastacia to start running towards him. Elias scrambles to get to his feet, his prostheses sliding to get traction on the stone as the career gets closer to him, spear raised and ready to be used to kill him.

The sight of the careers fills Elias with white-hot rage, reminding him that a career was the one that shot Genesis with an arrow and caused her death. Instead of running away from Delta, Elias runs at her, screaming out in anger as he ducks around her spear like he would avoid a punch back in the fighting pit, using the momentum to drive a fist into her side. Delta stumbles back, gasping in surprise at the punch as Anastacia makes her way over to them. Delta stabs out her spear, grazing Elias' shoulder, but it does not stop him from moving closer and punching her on the side of the head.

Delta slumps down, holding her head, and Elias turns at the approaching footsteps, his rage still burning in him over what these careers did to Genesis. Anastacia has one hand on the wall, guiding her towards him, a sword raised in the other. Before she can get close enough to hit him, Elias runs past her, shoving her into the stone wall. He hears a loud crack followed by a groan as he runs away from them, tears still pouring down his cheeks as he tries to take enough steady breaths, but they are all shallow and leave him gasping for air as he runs away from them.

Elias eventually has to slow down to catch his breath and he leans over, gasping for air, as a different fear comes over him. He forces himself to stop sobbing, realizing he will only lead them back to him if he keeps making noise. And he does not want to fight them again… Not after he so easily switched into fight mode when he saw them at first without even thinking about it. His instincts were immediately to fight, rather than run away from them. And that realization scares Elias. He does not want to be the killing machine that his parents tried to make him into, yet how can he fight that when it was second nature to fight the careers?

He is scared of becoming a monster and now that he is all on his own…he does not know what to do. He has never really been alone like this before. He had Cecy when his family left him. He had Dampero and the rest of the team while in the Capitol. He had Genesis… But now he has no one. He is truly alone. No one to tell him what he should or should not do. No one to stop him from turning into a fighting machine. No one to stop him from _killing._

No. He will not do that. Elias refuses to become what his parents trained him to be. He cannot be the reason someone feels loss like he just experienced.

* * *

 **Eulogies:**

 _Genesis Barrett [10], Ranked 15th, Killed by Odyssey [2]_

 _I struggled for a long time to figure out how far I wanted Genesis to go. I adore the relationship between her and Elias and I know she had enough skills to get farther. Yet I felt that this was the time for her to go. Everyone seemed pretty hopeful that she was going to survive her injury from the bloodbath, but it was too deep of a wound. She was a lot of fun to write and I am sorry I don't get to continue writing her, but not everyone can go far. Her death is certainly going to have a huge impact on Elias and what he now does in the arena and it won't be the last we hear of her. Thank you so much for sending her in, Huntress! RIP Genesis._

 **Well, it's been a minute since we last had an update. Life has been...well, a lot of things have been going on that have made me have very little energy and motivation to write. But today I finally had the energy to write. And I'm really happy with how this chapter turned out!**

 **I'd like to invite you to come participate in the SYOT Alliance forum's third annual SYOT Awards! This event is a yearly thing we do to recognize another great year of SYOTs and those involved! We are currently in the nomination stage of the awards so please check it out, let others know, and come participate :) the link to the forum is on my profile because FFN does not like links within the actual story.**

 **Of course things weren't going to stay calm for long in the arena and without deaths. And better buckle up because it's only going to get crazier from here on. As always, your thoughts on the chapter are much appreciated!**

 **Blog is updated with end of Night One information. Sponsorship is still open so get those items in now because prices will go up with each day!**

 **I'd say see you soon, but I don't know when the next update will happen. It could be a while or it could be next week, I have no clue. So see you whenever motivation next strikes lol.**


	34. Day Two: Show Yourself

**Chapter 30:**

 _Day Two_

 _Anastacia Astoria, 18, District One_

If she wasn't blind, Anastacia would be a lot more embarrassed and angry at how things have turned out as she heads back into their camp with Delta. At least she can't see the looks on their faces when they tell the rest that the two of them were beat by a boy from Six who has prostheses for both legs. She guesses they now know exactly why Elias earned an eight in training.

Still, she's glad she won't be able to see the smug look on Major's face when she stumbles back in, dried blood on her forehead from getting knocked into the stone and following after Delta's angry footsteps.

But she is sad she won't ever get to see the smug look disappear from Major's face when she finally punches it away.

"What happened to you two?"

Anastacia turns her head in the direction of Odyssey, seemingly genuine concern for them in his voice. She gives a shrug as Delta speaks up in an angry huff, "Elias."

Anastacia trips over something and Demarcus lets out a noise of surprise. She catches herself and tries to pat him on the shoulder, but from the feeling of hair, she knows she hit his head instead. "Sorry Demarcus," Anastacia says quietly as she hears someone snickering and immediately turns in the direction of the bastard, sending a glare at her District partner. God, she can't wait to make him pay for what he did to Pad. She sits down next to Demarcus before she can trip over someone else – last thing she needs is for one of them to let her fall into the fire – and tries to hear if everyone is around. But it's hard to hear over the sound of Delta stomping around the camp. "He knows how to fight, that's for sure. And he was crying over his ally, so that's who the cannon was for."

"The girl from Ten?" Bell asks and Anastacia nods her head in Bell's general direction. She keeps note in her head of where she is, hoping she can get her alone so she can talk to the girl from Two about Major. At least she doesn't have to worry about Major overhearing her. "Nice job, Odyssey. She was the one you shot, right?"

"Yeah…" Odyssey says quietly, almost to the point where Anastacia can't hear him. He clears his throat before speaking up at a louder volume, "Well that brings us to fourteen left. Almost half of the tributes left are right here."

He clearly meant to be lighthearted about that statement from his tone, but Anastacia feels a tension settle over the group at that. They make up a huge portion of the remaining tributes and without any casualties to their group yet… How long until one of them turns on another? Or one of them gets badly injured in a fight? That could have been Anastacia…all because she can't fucking see.

Of course, the one to finally break the tense silence is the one person who has no idea what they are talking about. "Hey octopus boy, you going to tell me what's going on?"

"Octopus boy?" Anastacia asks in confusion as Odyssey answers Major, even though her District partner can't hear his response.

"They got hats and Odyssey's is an octopus while Major's is a squid," Bell tells her.

"Oh," Anastacia says quietly before muttering under her breath, "A snake would have been better."

Anastacia falls into silence, listening a little to Odyssey and Major as they talk about what happened. She starts tapping her fingers on her thigh, feeling like she should be doing something. The thought of their alliance making up nearly half the tributes has her on edge because if Major were to get the pack to turn against her, she only has one other person on her side for sure. And that's when Delta isn't being angry as she drags Anastacia off hunting someone and won't share who.

Which means Anastacia has to get at least one more person on her side. She knows Major has already gotten his slimy fingers wrapped around Demarcus. And at this rate with Major and Odyssey as travel buddies, he's a goner. Leaving one person for her to hopefully convince…

"Hey Bell, can you help me find…um…a blanket in the pile of supplies?"

Anastacia wishes she could see Bell's reaction because surely the girl is smart enough to realize she should have asked Delta instead. "Sure," she finally answers and Anastacia hears her moving and tries her best to follow her without needing assistance or tripping over anything – or anyone – again.

Once she feels herself step into the cornucopia and away from the view of the others, she crosses her arms and leans against the cool metal, hopefully facing Bell.

"So, do you trust Major?" Anastacia asks her, immediately getting a scoff from Bell that brings a smile to her face. "Well that answers that."

"I don't trust anyone in this arena," Bell answers her and Anastacia nods her head in agreement.

"Not even Odyssey?"

"I…" Bell starts and Anastacia can hear the hesitation in her voice. "Yes. Even though I shouldn't."

Anastacia stares over at her for a few seconds, wondering what it would be like to know she could fully trust her District partner to have her back in this arena. To not be afraid that her allies will turn on her and she won't see them coming or have any warning. To be able to sleep comfortably at night and not fear getting a knife in her back. But if she has to remain on guard 24/7 to win for Pad, then she will. After all, how could anything be worse than suffering through the loss of her best friend? "You're lucky."

"You wouldn't say that if you knew everything," Bell says with a humorless laugh and Anastacia raises an eyebrow at her in questioning. But Bell diverts the topic back to her, "Anyways, why are you asking if I trust Major?"

"Because I want to make sure you don't," Anastacia tells her, once again wishing she could actually see the non-verbal cues that could give away things Bell doesn't want to say. "He's a bastard who will do whatever to win with no regrets who he hurts along the way."

"But aren't we all just trying to win? You're telling me you wouldn't do whatever it takes to win?" Bell asks her and Anastacia starts frowning, knowing Bell absolutely has a point. "And why should I believe you? I think we both just agreed you can't trust anyone in the arena."

"I…" Anastacia starts, before cursing under her breath. Bell is absolutely right. "Just…think about everything he did when we were in the Capitol. Surely he did something that seems suspicious looking back at it now."

They stand in silence for a long minute, Anastacia just waiting for some sort of sign from Bell. So long passes that she starts to wonder if Bell has walked away without her hearing. Until finally she hears a small sigh from Bell and she mutters something under her breath that she doesn't quite catch, something about…me sure? No, that can't be what she said. Fuck this hearing damage from training. Anastacia raises her eyebrows at her and Bell clears her throat. "I see your point."

"Good," Anastacia says with a small smile of satisfaction. "He's a bastard that we cannot allow to win. Delta knows too and she's with me."

"So it's us against the boys?"

"Yeah," Anastacia answers, not having realized that up to this point. "Unless you can get Odyssey on our side."

"I don't know about that…" Bell says slowly. "He…we…no, sorry, I don't think I can."

"Please just try," Anastacia says, not really believing that Bell will actually listen to her. "He seems like a nice guy and you two are close. I'd hate to have to turn on him for siding with Major, but I will if it comes down to a fight between us. I don't think you would like that either."

Again, Bell is silent for a while and Anastacia is left wondering what happened between these two. They had been so close during training and during the party, until suddenly they weren't. "Sorry, I don't think I can do that. But I think us three girls can take him down without Odyssey."

Anastacia just shrugs at this. If Bell doesn't want to try to save Odyssey from the inevitable clash, so be it. The life of one doesn't matter in the long run of her plans after winning, and part of that plan is taking down her District partner. She holds out her hand in front of her and it only takes a moment for Bell to take it and shake it firmly. "Welcome to the plan to take down the snake."

* * *

 _Fox Durham, 18, District Ten_

Fox doesn't want to sit in silence with Amelia, afraid to be alone in his thoughts and where they will take him, but he doesn't know what more to talk about. He could barely sleep last night as every time he shut his eyes, his mind kept replaying over and over and over again Adam's death. He kept thinking about his baby and just _hoping_ with everything in him that the baby the Head Gamemaker's mother had been watching at the party was Adam's baby… He can't even begin to think about the alternative without bringing tears to his eyes.

But the worst part was when he finally fell asleep and the nightmares came and replaced Adam with Paloma.

He gave up trying to sleep after that despite being exhausted, too terrified from what he saw happen to Adam and the nightmares about his wife and unborn child. And so he sat in silence for hours until Amelia finally gave up trying to sleep too, haunted by her own set of nightmares surrounding the Games.

And so they talked. They talked and talked, both trying to keep their minds busy. Fox talked about Paloma and Maddox for a while, but stopped when he realized talking about family was making Amelia upset. She talked about the university program and Clark helping her apply. Fox could listen to her talk about the program for hours and hours, imagining what it's like to study at that level of education since he's been out of school for years. Even if he didn't understand half the things she talked about, he still enjoyed listening to her.

"Tell me more about your classes," Fox asks her, getting an amused look from her.

"Do you want me to just teach you what I've learned?" Amelia asks him teasingly, but Fox nods his head in all seriousness. She stares at him in surprise for a moment, "I don't know if I'm a very good teacher-"

Sudden fanfare of trumpets immediately puts them both on edge and Amelia reaches out and clasps his hand out of fear, holding on so tight Fox can feel his hand cramping up. "It's too early for a feast," Amelia whispers, her voicing shaking as Fox nods his head in agreement. "I'm scared."

"Me too," Fox answers honestly, even though he's been afraid for the entire time they have been in the arena. So afraid of someone finding him that would hurt him, unlike Amelia who agreed to be his ally. So afraid that he would die and leave his children without a father. And so afraid that he will be forced into a situation where he has to fight and hurt someone.

"If it's a feast, we're not going," Amelia says stubbornly, but there's no scenario where Fox would have said yes to going to a feast. "We'll figure things out on our own."

"Hello tributes and welcome to the second day!" Kora Flickerman says cheerfully when the fanfare comes to a stop.

"How can she be so cheery about death?" Amelia asks under her breath and despite being a relatively positive person himself, Fox has no idea.

"I know you are all surely wondering what this announcement is, so I'll cut to the chase," Kora continues before pausing for a moment. "The Gamemakers have a _special_ arena event planned for you! In the pit where you first launched, two tributes will be competing in the first Trial by Combat – a fight to the death with perhaps a reward for the tribute that stands victorious."

Amelia and Fox share a look with each other at this information, eyes wide in fear. That…is possibly the worst situation Fox could be put in, forced to fight against someone or he will be killed… And as he stares at Amelia, an even more terrifying thought fills him. "Two tributes…"

Amelia shakes her head, eyes turning glossy in fear. "Please not us."

"The tributes who will be fighting in the first Trial by Combat are…" Kora gives a lengthy pause, only giving time for Fox to grow more afraid that she is going to say their names. "Delta Zale and Carameuse Juniper!"

They both let out loud sighs of relief at the two names and Amelia slowly lets go of Fox's hand. "I guess there's a reason behind that 12…"

"Yep," Fox says, still terrified by the idea of being put in a fight against someone else against his choice.

"Delta and Carameuse, you will now be brought into the prep rooms for the fight. And while this is only between two tributes, we encourage you all to attend and view this spectacle! It is sure to be _quite_ the fight. Also Head Gamemaker Seraphim kindly requests that the careers relocate into the stands for the fight and appreciate your cooperation. Best of luck to Delta and Carameuse and may the odds be ever in your favor!"

Fanfare signals the end of Kora's announcement and when it ends, silence fills the room. Amelia gets up and starts pacing, rubbing her eyes and taking shaky breaths. "Should have known they would do something like this, it's a _Quell_."

"But we're safe," Fox tries to reassure her, yet he doesn't quite feel safe. The announcement has shattered the bubble of false security he had and bitterly reminded him that threats can come at any time. "They didn't pick us."

"For _now_ ," Amelia turns to him and Fox immediately wants to start comforting her when he sees her eyes watering. "She said it's the _first_ one. How long until they pick one of us and make us go against a career like Carameuse? Or against each other?"

Fox doesn't know what to say to her. He doesn't know what the Gamemakers are going to do… "We're going to be safe."

"We're in the Hunger Games, we're never going to be safe," Amelia says, voice low and sounding so hopeless. "I'm sorry, Fox… If I get put into a fight against you, I'm going to fight for my life."

Fox frowns at this, but finds himself nodding his head. "I understand…it's the Games. But that's not going to happen."

"How do you know that?"

"I don't, but it's what I'm choosing to believe," Fox shrugs at her, seeing in her face that she doesn't believe that.

"I don't want to end up like Aero," Amelia whispers to him, her voice cracking as she says her brother's name.

"You won't," Fox reassures her, wanting to comfort her before even realizing what that would mean for him. And yet…he isn't fooling himself. He knows that she has the better chance of winning compared to him.

Amelia shakes her head at him before turning towards the door. "I'm sorry, Fox, I never should have agreed to being your ally… I don't want to hurt you by staying with you."

"Amelia, wait!" Fox calls out as she starts walking towards the door, but she doesn't stop. He can't be alone in this arena…he's too scared of that. Fox runs after her, grabbing her arm and gently stopping her before she can reach the door. "Amelia, please… I don't want to be alone."

"I don't either," Amelia says as she looks back at him over her shoulder with tear stained eyes. "But I don't want to hurt you."

"We don't know that will happen. There's still more than half left. What are the odds they pick us?" Fox asks slowly, desperate to convince her to stay. He can't be alone…not after what he saw happen to Adam. If he is alone for too long, he won't be able to stop himself down the spiraling thoughts from watching his fellow dad die… "And right now we are safe together." He gestures between them, "No one is making us fight right now."

"No…" Amelia says slowly.

"No, what?"

"No, we're not being forced to fight right now…" Amelia continues, still not looking convinced. "It's just…it will hurt _so_ fucking bad if I let myself stay. I know I'll get close to you and I don't know what more loss I can take. If I stay, we can't be all buddy buddy."

"Just strictly allies," Fox reassures her and watches her take a deep breath, before turning around to face him. "That's it, just allies. No being friends or anything."

But they both know it's rare for allies to remain just allies.

* * *

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

"We're all set to go, sir."

Seraphim nods his head at Laelia and takes a deep breath as he watches the two tributes being prepared for the Trial by Combat. He should be feeling more excited about watching the arena event he's had planned for months since shortly after they solidified the arena design. But he can't relax and enjoy it. Not until he knows for sure that the rebels are not going to interfere in any way with this and they will have removed the threat. Maybe for the next one on day four he'll be able to be excited about it. Then Holly will be gone. There's just too much uncertainty between then and now.

"And the careers have temporarily relocated into the stands surrounding the pit for the fight," Laelia continues, pointing at the screen showing the alliance as they prepare for one of their own to fight.

"Let's wait to show the two to the viewers until they have appeared in the arena, but get it ready," Seraphim directs his crew and Delta and Holly soon appear on a split screen as they're being directed into new launch tubes. Delta goes willingly into it, face burning with anger as she keeps switching her trident from hand to hand and bounces on her toes. Holly has to be pushed into the tube, no doubt knowing that there was a reason for her being there. Her bow is shoved in with her last second before the glass closes, bringing the two tributes back up into the arena for what should be Seraphim's crowning moment.

Yet he feels like he might start hyperventilating at any moment.

"Deep breaths," Laelia says softly beside him, putting a hand on his shoulder. He glances over at her, finding her looking very concerned about him. "We've worked out all the details about this and it will go smoothly. So just sit back and watch a problem be removed."

Seraphim nods his head at this, turning his gaze back to the screens as the two tributes are brought into the arena and the country – and the remaining careers – get their first glimpse of them in their new outfits. Of course, they aren't brand new outfits. There was a reason Seraphim told the stylists to make sure the chariot outfits were fully functional. And standing there in the sunlight of midday, weapons in hand and mutts surrounding them to keep them fighting, Seraphim can't help but be a little awed at it – the way Delta's sea blue armor reflects off the sunlight or the way Holly's cherry wood armor shows so many more deeper colors in the sun compared to the city lights. Seraphim knows that this is the kind of thing in the Games that he would have loved to see as a kid growing up.

And that brings a smile to his face.

"Yes, queen!" Odyssey yells at Delta, causing Bell to shake her head at him as she does her best to keep telling Anastacia and Demarcus what is going on. The girl from One smiles a little at the description of the tributes and nods her head, but Demarcus remains anxious about his District partner, despite the unfair matchup. And Major is just sitting there with his arms crossed, his eyes intensely following Delta as she prepares to fight and ignoring the rest of his alliance.

The two tributes stare each other down from opposite ends of the pit with two very different emotions. Holly is shaking in fear as she rapidly looks around her, taking in her location, the bear mutts surrounding the edges of the pit and growling in her direction, and of course, Delta. The career doesn't take her eyes off of Holly, trident firmly in her hand as she braces her feet to start running towards the girl.

It will be a completely unfair fight, but Seraphim only feels a small flicker of pity for Holly. But the rebels were not fair when they shot him last year or when they have repeatedly tried to sabotage his Games.

"Ring the gong and let them fight," Seraphim says coolly, rubbing the spot on his arm that still pains him to this day, and feeling no more pity for the rebel.

The gong rings once in the arena and it's all Delta needs to jump into action, racing across the pit towards Holly, trident poised and ready to use once closer to the girl. But Holly doesn't stay put either at the sound of the gong and she sprints towards the edge of the pit. Delta diverts her path as she tracks Holly, quickly gaining on the girl as she tries to race around the edge of the pit.

"Stop her running," Seraphim calls out to Magnus and the head of the mutts grins and gives him a thumbs up before putting in a command for his mutts. As Holly runs past one of the bear mutts, Delta gaining on her quickly, the mutt lunges forward and smacks her down, sending her sprawling and rolling across the ground.

Holly cries out as Delta catches up to her, screaming in anger as she brings down her trident to stab the girl with it, but Holly rolls away from her. The blades of the trident dig deep into the ground and Seraphim has no doubt that it would have been a fatal blow if it would have hit.

Delta lets out a yell of anger and leaves her trident embedded in the ground to tackle Holly, pushing the girl into the ground as she holds down her back. With a primal rage, she grabs onto Holly's shoulders and lifts her up before slamming her head face first down into the ground. She does this several times, leaving Holly's nose bent and bleeding profusely, but there's nothing she can do to stop Delta. No one can stop Delta in this rage.

Delta flips Holly onto her back and pins down her arms with her knees. She pulls Holly by the shoulders closer as she leans down towards the girl who whimpers in fear. "You killed him!" Delta yells at Holly before shoving her hard to the ground and the girl's head hits the ground with an audible crack. Holly groans in pain as Delta glares down at her, face red in anger, and Seraphim starts wondering if he'll need to cut the audio for the live feed.

"I'll destroy every last one of you!" Delta screams in her face before leaning back to begin pummeling Holly's face. Holly tries to raise her arms to defend herself against the first few blows, but Delta has her completely pinned down. Blow after blow hits Holly, knocking her head side to side, and she whimpers in pain with each one. But Delta doesn't relent. Not until her hands wrap around Holly's throat.

Holly tries feebly to push Delta off as her airways are cut off, but it's over. There's no way for her to escape the vengeful career. Holly starts gasping for air, her face turning purplish under all the blood covering it, and Delta leans closer to her, staring intently into the girl's eyes as she chokes the life out of her.

Finally, Holly's vitals flatline and Seraphim lets out a breath he was holding. The threat is gone. "Fire the cannon."

 _Boom._

Delta looks up at the sound of the cannon and it takes a few seconds for it to sink in past her adrenaline fueled rage. She slowly lets go of Holly's neck and stays there, breathing heavily before a smile slowly starts to form and she lets out a yell of triumph.

"We have our first Trial by Combat winner."

* * *

 _Arthur Bramble, 17, District Eleven_

It has taken every ounce of Arthur's survival instinct to fight back the creeping paranoia that has been present since his sight was first taken away from him. It's only been growing with each passing hour. Being alone without his sight…he should have tried harder in training to practice without his sight, like Cal did… But Cal died, somehow… Arthur can only speculate what happened to his former ally. But he hasn't dwelled on it too long, not liking the bit of resentment deep in him that Cal never answered him calling for him at the start.

Arthur had thought he found a good place to hide after the bloodbath. After all, he had found a room full of food after getting no supplies at the cornucopia. And he doesn't regret leaving with nothing, not when there were two careers with him. Clearly it was the right choice when one looks at what happened to the other two tributes that launched with them. But then he took a bite of an apple that was just… _off_ and then another one was, and Arthur put the pieces together then. Sure, there is some food in here that won't harm him. But there is also a lot that is meant to poison anyone that tries to eat it and lost their sense of taste. He didn't trust any of the food after that and was thankful when the sponsor gift arrived and has been surviving on the tea, slowly drinking it as it has miraculously stayed warm still.

Except…Arthur hadn't expected to use the thermos as a makeshift weapon. He hadn't thought twice about throwing the metal thermos when he heard someone, and that thought alone terrifies him. He relies so heavily on his instincts back in Eleven when it comes to survival and knowing his instincts made him attack first… He didn't want to hurt whoever came into his room. He doesn't want to hurt _anyone_ , but knows that in the Games, it's only a matter of time until he has to if he wants to live… But he was scared and paranoid that someone was lurking around in the room and he had no clue who it was. If it even was a some _one_ and not a some _thing_. But the thought of being in a room with some mutt that he doesn't know will push him over the edge to full paranoia, so he has tried to keep assuming it was a tribute. Yet if they came here once before, what's to stop them from returning? Will he be as lucky the next time and get away unscathed?

Arthur doesn't want to stay in this room any longer for that reason and fear that the Gamemakers will grow bored with him staying put and decide to kill him. His paranoia had kept him in place though, afraid that he would leave and run into another tribute and not know until he had a knife in his chest. There's too many careers left, enough to be out hunting at all times. He just needed the right opportunity to leave the room when he'll be at minimal risk.

And the Trial by Combat is that opportunity. After all, are the careers really going to go out hunting when one of their own is in a fight to the death? Well…maybe, but Arthur is counting on the answer being no. He knows his own instinct would be to watch what happened to an ally so he can only hope they are the same. And he sure is glad that it was not him that was picked to go against a career.

But he might be picked next time if he doesn't do anything and the Gamemakers decide to get rid of him.

That's it, he has to get moving. Arthur takes a deep breath as he leans up against the door, doing his best to try and hear out into the hallway, so dependent on that vital sense now that he has lost his sight. And yet…nothing. No footsteps. No talking. Just the sound of his own breathing. Okay…just need to go through that door.

Yet he still hesitates. Arthur has _never_ hesitated this much in his entire life. He always had to keep on a brave face in dangerous situations and a level head, knowing that he could make things worse if he started to panic. He's rushed straight into burning buildings before without thinking twice. But now he can't even step out into a silent hallway, held in place by fear of running into someone without knowing it and even worse, what he might do if that does happen.

"Just go, Arthur," he whispers to himself as he puts his hand on the doorknob. He won't get another opportunity like this again to move without the careers out hunting.

Arthur counts to three, preparing himself for whatever he might find, before opening the door and stepping out into the hallway. He waits a few long seconds, trying his hardest to hear anything that will send him back into the room. But the only sound in the silence is his racing heart. But the open is the worst place to be – and he doesn't even quite know what the arena looks like down here – so he steps forward, hand out in front of him, until he reaches the wall on the opposite side. He starts walking along it, keeping his hand against it and focusing on taking long deep breaths to keep himself calm. He can feel the wall sloping as he walks along until his hand brushes against a door, making him jump back for a moment in shock. He shakes his head at himself before reaching out with both hand, feeling for the doorknob. When he finds it, he doesn't open the door right away and instead presses his ear against it, afraid of who could be behind it.

But there's only silence. Silence that lets his paranoia grow until the announcement echoes around him, announcing Delta Zale as the winner of the Trial by Combat. The announcement has him rip open the door in fear that the careers will be on the move again and he quickly steps in and shuts himself inside. He takes a few moments to bring his breathing back down before starting to walk around the edge of the room, struggling to place what it is when it has such a foul smell to it.

A door clicks open – not the one Arthur entered from – and loud thumps sound on the ground and approach him before he can even hide or think about defending himself. Hot breath hits his face, stinking of raw meat before a roar has him cowering against the wall. "Please don't kill me! I was- I-" Arthur tries to think of a reason to give the Gamemakers that might stop them from having whatever the mutt in front of him is kill him – he can _almost_ put the name to the roar – but fear has frozen him up, leaving only one thought.

He should have stayed put.

* * *

 _Delta Zale, 17, District Four_

Delta stares at the crackling flames they all sit around in almost complete silence as the sky continues to darken with the setting sun. None of them have quite known what to do for the remainder of the day after the Trial by Combat, leading to the unusual circumstance of all six of them being present for more than one hour. The adrenaline of her fight has long since passed away, the blood washed off her hands, and leaving her behind with…she doesn't even know what she is feeling right now. She thought killing Holly would fill her with satisfaction at finally destroying a rebel like she has promised to do ever since her father was sent out by them to the most dangerous place and got him killed. She swore vengeance on the rebels and she got that.

But why does she just feel numb and empty and without a purpose? What does she do now after killing Holly? She knows the answer is to keep fighting and win the Games, but that's always been the overall goal of volunteering. That still seems far off, especially when all six careers are still sitting together around the fire with only thirteen tributes left. She knows her biggest challenges standing in the way of her winning are sitting with her.

"How are you doing?"

Delta looks up from the fire at Demarcus as he carefully sits down next to her, doing his best with his new blindness. She stares at him in confusion at why he's asking this – they're on good terms, but Delta wouldn't exactly call them friends between her inability to know what to say to people her age and Demarcus being, well, Demarcus. She gives a grunt and a shrug before turning her gaze back to the fire. "I'm fine."

Delta can see Demarcus nod his head from the corner of her eye and they sit in silence for a few minutes, which Delta is fine with. Well, normally she would be fine with this. But sitting in silence just leaves her in her mind and in this confusion of what to do now.

Finally, she gets a break from her thoughts as the anthem begins to play and she turns her gaze up to the sky at the Panem seal, waiting for the one face that will be shown today. Holly's face appears along with Kora announcing her name for those that can't see, but she announces her under her false name. Delta stares up at her face, feeling a little flicker of rage in her once more, before reminding herself that she is gone. She is no longer a threat.

All too soon, the sky grows dark and they fall into quiet once more. Demarcus clears his throat next to Delta, but she doesn't look over at him. "You fought well today."

"You didn't even see the fight," Delta answers him as she leans back to lay down on the ground. She puts her hands behind her head and stares up at the sky, trying to get comfortable in the new set of armor she assumes they'll let her wear for the remainder of the Games. She'll take the advantage as her reward for being loyal to the Capitol and taking out someone they wanted dead.

 _But why does she still feel so unfulfilled?_

"I…" Demarcus says slowly before giving a nervous laugh. "You're right. But Bell described it and it…well you reminded me a lot of Okeanas."

"I like that comparison," Delta answers quietly, feeling just a bit smug about the comparison to her mentor. Who _wouldn't_ want to be compared to Okeanas? She's a legend in Four. And so is the woman she mentored who is now mentoring Demarcus. "You're lucky to have Muir mentoring you."

Delta turns her head to look at him, finding him turned back towards her. He gives a small shrug at the statement, "She's very nice, but just…so last minute."

"Yeah," Delta responds to him, not knowing what else to say. Again they fall silent and Delta thinks about their mentors, wondering what they are doing right now. Maybe they're getting some sponsors for her. Surely people want to sponsor her after the fight. Well, assuming Okeanas doesn't bitch them out by being her normal self.

The image of her doing that makes Delta chuckle to herself. Demarcus gives her a confused look and she just shakes her head. "Nothing, just thinking about Okeanas."

"I see," Demarcus responds seriously before slowly smiling at the unintentional pun. "I don't _actually_ see," he says with a small chuckle.

Delta just shakes her head at the bad pun, already having heard it or some variation of it too many times from Odyssey and it is only day two. "You have spent too much time with Odyssey."

"So if people don't mind, I think I want to head out tonight."

Delta turns her head towards Bell and gives as much of a shrug as she can from where she lays on the ground. She doesn't care what the others do right now and she doesn't want to head out tonight. Why should she when there's no tribute she's trying to hunt down?

Delta watches Odyssey write out something to Major, who picks his head up to look over at Bell right away. "I'll go hunting with you."

Bell stares at him for a long moment, her face unreadable. "I'll stick with Demarcus." Anastacia gives a snicker at this as she keeps slowly sharpening her sword and staring across the fire and Delta isn't sure if she meant to be glaring at Major because she's currently staring at no one.

Major briefly shows offense on his face when Odyssey writes out Bell's reply, before turning it into a sickly sweet smile. "Well I don't blame you, Demarcus is a good guy. No problem at all."

"Demarcus?" Bell asks, turning her attention back to her assigned partner.

"Yeah," Demarcus stands up next to her and brushes off his toga. "Do I have time to get ready?"

"We have nothing but time right now," Delta answers and she realizes that's the problem. She has all this time to just sit and think without any immediate goal. She still doesn't know why she doesn't feel fulfilled by killing a rebel. But she knows that she needs to have something else to focus on right now, something to devote all her time and energy towards.

And she knows what she could do.

Delta sits up as Bell and Demarcus begin their prep to go out for the night, but Delta isn't watching them – she has her focus on a different pair of tributes. The pair from One. Major might not be a rebel, but he's still a bastard. And if someone does something to betray someone, Delta doesn't care who they are.

They need to get destroyed.

* * *

 **Eulogies:**

 _Holly Alder [7], Ranked 14th, Killed by Delta [4]:_

 _I knew it, you knew it, we all knew this was coming and there was no chance Delta was going to let Holly get out of there alive - the question had just been whether the rebels would help her or not. And we have our answer to that. Holly has been such a blast to have as part of the subplot with her convoluted way of getting more wrapped up in the rebels than she planned to! Thank you JAJ for sending her in! RIP Holly (or should I say, RIP Carameuse)._

 **Well, I can't tell you just how long I have been waiting to get to the Trial by Combats (TbC). What's a Colosseum without some gladiator fights? I've had the idea for them since before the Overlooked finale so a long time lol. And now we are finally here! No more hinting about what the "arena event" is after many hints about it lol. And I hope the first one did not disappoint with that fight between Delta and Holly.**

 **So here we are, end of Day Two, and the drama is just getting started and it's only going to keep increasing as we get further in. As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter, especially the TbC! (Yeah I know, I shamelessly took the name from Game of Thrones lol).**

 **Also the SYOT Alliance Forum is currently hosting the third annual SYOT Awards! We are in the voting time and have lots of great nominations, so if you're interested in voting, check out the link on my profile! :)**

 _ **Also**_ **if you like my victors, I've recently started up a little for fun series called The Victor Memoirs! Each chapter takes a look at a moment from each victor's Games for some fun worldbuilding. If it's something you're interested, definitely feel free to check it out! (Also it is part of the sponsor point system so yay more points!)**

 **Well hopefully Night Two will be out soon! I'm guessing I should at least have one more update this month before the year is over, maybe two. So see you then and buckle up, the Games are not going to slow down!**


	35. Night Two: Do The Next Right Thing

**A/N: The SYOT Alliance forum is currently holding the Third Annual SYOT Awards and voting is open right now! Please consider checking it out and voting :) The link to the forum is on my profile!**

 **And now, on to the Games.**

* * *

 **Chapter 31:**

 _Night Two_

 _Demarcus Pollock, 18, District Four_

When Bell said she wanted to go hunting with him over Major, Demarcus was both a little shocked and also relieved. He has felt so unhelpful and…useless for the pack since the Games started… He's tried to keep doing his best to help them, but he knows they must be annoyed at always having to help him out. He can hear it in their voices when they have to guide him up the stairs to go out into the arena or tell him where certain supplies are. He even needs them to help guide him to the designated _bathroom_ area so he doesn't step in something that would be rather unpleasant… He was the most afraid of losing his sight, yet it still happened to him. It's taken all of his willpower to keep from spiraling and letting his anxiety convince him that he won't be able to win. Not without his sight.

So when Bell said she wanted to go hunting with _him_ … He finally felt like he was helpful and contributing to the alliance. She picked him over the other four options she had. Surely that must mean something? Yet as he stands there waiting for Bell to finish getting ready, he can't help the creeping feeling that despite there being no indication of it being true…he's dead weight in their alliance. He hasn't been itching to get out into the arena to find tributes. Killing in the bloodbath had been as terrible as he expected it to be and he can still feel the blood on his hands. It was so…so _awful_. He doesn't want to do that again, but he knows he has to.

If living with the guilt of killing for the rest of his life is the price he has to help his family get the treatment they so badly need…he will live with it. He has done this much so far for them and he cannot stop now.

"Alright Demarcus, let's go."

Demarcus turns in the direction of Bell and smiles at her. He listens for a few seconds as she starts walking before following after her, holding the bottom of his spear in front of him to watch for any obstacles that might be in front of him. He does not want to embarrass himself further by tripping while trying to leave their camp.

"About another ten feet to the steps," Bell tells him and Demarcus nods his head, focusing on his steps and trying to figure out how many steps of his equate to ten feet.

"Bell, wait!"

"Oh for fucks sake," Bell mutters under her breath before Demarcus runs into her outstretched arm. "Let's see what he wants."

"Wait, please," Odyssey calls as he runs over to them. Demarcus turns in his general direction before the little voice in the back of his mind reminds him that Odyssey was just calling after Bell, not him…

 _You're useless to them._

No, he is not useless… At least, he doesn't think he is…

"What do you want?" Bell asks her District partner as he stops near them.

"Can we please talk?" Odyssey asks her in return, concern in his voice that makes Demarcus feel like he shouldn't be overhearing this conversation. He turns away from them, looking up at the sky and pretending he isn't listening to them.

But he is. Hard not to when all he sees is darkness and he's so dependent on his hearing.

"I'm a little busy," Bell answers him with a huff before grabbing onto his arm, making Demarcus let out a little noise of surprise. "Come on, Demarcus."

Bell starts dragging Demarcus towards the stairs, making him stumble a little as he gets moving. "Stairs," she tells him a split second before they reach them and she lets go of his arm, leaving him to walk up them alone.

"Come on, Bell!" Odyssey calls after her, but she stays quiet, just walking ahead of Demarcus.

Demarcus cringes to himself at Bell ignoring Odyssey, feeling uncomfortable getting caught in the middle of…whatever is going on with them. It just reminds him of being back home and there always being some sort of argument going on with his family, most of the time stemming from an issue that can be traced back to their health. His parents were almost _always_ fighting about something, most of the time money since neither of them could keep a job for long. Or his siblings would start some sort of argument over seemingly nothing…

All Demarcus knows is that he really doesn't want to be in the middle of another fight between people that care about each other.

"Hey Bell…" Demarcus starts quietly as she leads him to the staircase heading down to the underground level.

"What's up?" Bell asks him, her tone not sounding as nice as usual towards him, almost making him tense up and shut down, not wanting to get her mad at him.

But he pushes on, knowing he needs to count on her to help him out in the arena – even if that just makes him more anxious. "Is everything…okay with you two?"

Bell sighs at this and Demarcus immediately shuts his mouth, knowing that he messed up and should have stayed quiet. "It's fine, I just…don't want to talk about it, okay?"

"Okay," Demarcus agrees quickly before deciding to stay quiet so he doesn't mess things up with her further. But that just means he is left alone in his thoughts, which is never a good thing.

Demarcus still doesn't quite know how anyone can win the Games without their sight…yet he is trying to keep pushing forward, using the training Iona and now Muir has been teaching him.

 _I can do this. I am enough. I can win. I can-_

Things were going great until in his distraction, he runs right into Bell having stopped in front of him. "I'm so sorry," Demarcus says quickly, reaching out for her shoulders to steady himself. Bell puts out her arm for him to grab and he smiles at her in appreciation until the nagging doubt starts to build in him that he is just hindering her. He can't even follow her down the stairs without messing that up.

 _He's never going to win these Games._

"Just trying to figure out what way to go," Bell says quietly before making a shushing noise at him. Demarcus stands absolutely still, afraid to even breath and make too much noise as they both listen for something, any sort of sign of which way they should go. But when he doesn't hear anything other than the sound of his own breathing, he just grows nervous that he's letting her down. "Do you hear anything?"

"I…" Demarcus hesitates, afraid of telling her the truth and having her get mad at him for not even being able to help with the sense he still haves. But lying to her would just make him worry even more. He shakes his head at her, "I do not."

"Neither do I," Bell says and lets out a little noise. "I guess we'll just pick a direction. Left or right?"

"Uh…right?" Demarcus answers slowly, afraid of answering wrong. What if there aren't any tributes this way and it will be his fault?

"Right it is," Bell says before starting to walk away from him. He listens for a moment before following after her, lightly tapping his spear on the ground in front of him.

They walk in silence, just the small tapping from Demarcus and Bell's quiet footsteps, leaving Demarcus trapped in his thoughts. He goes back to wondering why Bell picked him and not Major to go hunting with and he's just…confused. Major can see while Demarcus can't. Major has been so nice all throughout training and the Games so far, yet Bell still snapped quickly about not wanting to go with him. But why…? Major has been great to Demarcus and that's who he would have wanted as his hunting partner…

"Hey Bell?" Demarcus asks slowly, his anxiety both making him want to know and completely avoid the topic at the same time. But he just doesn't understand what she sees in him over Major… "Why did you pick me instead of Major?"

Bell's footsteps stop quickly and Demarcus at least has time to stop himself before running into her again. But this just makes him anxious as he waits for her reply. "I just like you better than him, okay?"

"Okay," Demarcus says slowly, not quite agreeing with that.

"Do I need a reason to not like him?" Bell asks him, accusatory tone in her voice that has Demarcus taking a cautionary step back from her. "And I do have a reason, but it's none of your business."

"I'm sorry!" Demarcus says quickly, terrified that he really did offend her. What if she just leaves him down here to struggle back on his own? Would she tell the career pack that he is useless and they are better off without him? "I shouldn't have asked and I'm sorry if-"

Demarcus is cut off by a hand over his mouth and he lets out a noise of surprise and tries to back up. "Be quiet!" Bell whispers harshly to him, keeping her hand over his mouth tightly as he nods his head quickly. "I heard something."

Demarcus raises his eyebrows in shock, even as he gets a little afraid of running towards something blindly. He strains to listen for what Bell might have heard and…

"That's definitely a tribute," Bell says as she takes her hand from covering his mouth and grabs his arm to start dragging him towards the tribute. "Let's go!"

* * *

 _Davy Emmerich, 14, District Five_

Davy knew his odds going into the arena and they certainly weren't as good as the careers. He knew he would have to work harder than others to stay alive. His own allies…they were proof that tributes like him have lower odds. He's tried not to focus on the odds – after all, someone younger than him won last year – and instead focus on why he is fighting to get out of this arena alive. But in the middle of the night as he tries to sleep, he can't fight the thoughts that are always lingering in the back of his mind, reminders that all of the careers are still alive and he doesn't think he could take them on in a fight and win. He's trying to stay hopeful and brave, for Leandro's sake…

But it's just so very hard.

Davy lets out a small whimper as he fights back his tears, trying to hold it in so Leandro doesn't see him being anything less than okay. When he still feels his eyes watering up and unable to hold back the tears, he presses his face into the fur of the wolf he is curled up against for warmth as he tries to sleep. He feels a faint buzz of the hearing aid on his wrist before the wolf rubs her head against his before laying back down. But this only makes it harder for him to hold back a sob, reminded of being back home and his mother comforting him when he wasn't feeling well, or the nights in the Capitol when Mrs. Calder would stay up late with him when he couldn't sleep.

Who would have thought Davy would be curled up next to a wolf in the arena, let alone getting comforted by one? He certainly never expected this. But he never expected to be in the Games. He had expected that he would still have allies at this point. And no matter how nice the wolves are treating him, he cannot get rid of the small nagging in the back of his mind that they are still mutts created by the Gamemakers. They're only being nice because the Gamemakers want them to be and that could change at any time if they decide Davy isn't doing enough.

Which he isn't… He hasn't left the room at all since they first accepted him. Davy has been too scared to leave them and hasn't really had a need to leave them yet. He has somewhere to sleep that's warm. He has a knife. He has a device to notify him to noises. And he has _water_. The only thing missing is food…even though the wolves had nudged a piece of raw meat from their meals in his direction, he just has not grown desperate enough to reach that point. He's so very hungry already and there's a constant dull ache in his stomach, but he knows he can still survive a few more days without food. He made sure to load up on calories when in the Capitol. But…he will need food eventually and he would like to avoid raw meat if possible. Which means one thing…

Davy can't sleep anyways…so for the sake of keeping the Gamemakers happy…he might have to be brave and leave the room. But even just the thought of leaving this safety and finding another tribute has him shaking in fear. Davy slowly sits up, rubbing his arms as he tries to stop his shaking. His wolf lifts up her head to look at him curious and even though he knows he's talking to a wolf, there are Gamemakers – and more importantly, Leandro – listening to him. "I need to go find food… Will you come with me?"

The wolf stares at him for a few seconds before laying back down, giving him his answer. Davy blinks a few times to hold back his tears, knowing he has to go out into the arena alone. He sits there for a minute, taking deep breaths to try and slow his rapidly beating heart. He can do this. He _has_ to do this…for Leandro.

Davy slowly picks up the knife sitting nearby and the folded up walking cane, swinging it to extend it to its full length. He doesn't know why the Gamemakers put this item in his room, but he will still use it, regardless of still having his sight. It would probably hurt if he hit someone with it or maybe he can even use it to bargain for his life…

"Okay, Davy," he says softly to himself as he stands up and faces the door. But he stays rooted in his spot for a couple minutes, still trying to find the bravery to leave the safety in here. _But it won't stay safe if he doesn't do anything to keep himself in the Gamemakers' favor._

That's the last bit of motivation Davy needs to finally start taking slow steps towards the door. He can do this. He has a knife and a bargaining item. He can still have some sort of warning if someone approaches him, even without his hearing. There's a good chance he won't even find any tributes. After all, there's only thirteen of them left. And he doesn't _have_ to fight anyone that he runs into, there's always the option of running away from them.

Davy knows he's stalling and he jumps when one of the wolf's nudges his back towards the door. Now he _really_ can't decide to just stay put… He doesn't know what the nudge from the Gamemakers could mean but he's afraid of the possibilities. But to go against them now would mean almost certain death…

With a deep breath, Davy slowly cracks open the door before pausing, waiting for any sort of vibration from his wrist band. But there's nothing… He cracks the door a few more inches and pauses once more, but doesn't get any sign of a tribute nearby, and he repeats this until the door is halfway open, enough for him to comfortably slip through.

Davy's hands shake as he slowly starts to move his head through the door, quickly looking left and right up the hallway and then back down at his wrist to see if it is picking up on any noise. But there's nothing… Just Davy's heart beating rapidly in his chest as he takes a step out of his room before stopping again and looking around.

Once finally fully out of the room, Davy looks back at the door, trying to have some way of knowing this is his room. But the wood door is unmarked and one solid color, nothing to distinguish it. Davy stares at it for a minute before taking his knife and making a slash across the grain, trying not to make it anything that other tributes would stop and pause about, but still enough for him. He takes a step back to look at the door, knowing it's the best he can do.

And then he sets out into the arena.

Davy picks a direction and begins down the hallway, constantly glancing back over his shoulder to make sure no one is sneaking up on him. But he is the only one there, which is making him more nervous than if there was a tribute in his sight. His steps are slow as he does his best to stay quiet, holding the knife and walking cane in front of him, trying not to focus on just how much they are shaking.

Davy doesn't know how far he made it before a tribute steps out of a door a short distance ahead of him and he quickly presses himself up against the wall, silently praying they do not notice him. Davy has no idea if his rapid breathing is audible and going to notify the girl stepping out of the door, biting into an apple. In the dark and in his panic, it takes a few seconds for Davy to recognize her and when he realizes it's someone also missing their hearing, a wave of relief passes through him. There's a chance Sky might not notice him.

Sky seems too preoccupied with the apple in her hand, scowling down at it as she spits out the bite before throwing the apple to the ground. Davy can feel his stomach rumble at the sight of the food and his hearing aid even picks up on the faint sound, both reassuring him to the sensitivity of it and making him paranoid that any other tribute that still has their hearing could hear him.

Davy waits, frozen in place against the wall and trying to press himself as close as possible, just watching Sky as her shoulders hunch over for a moment. Davy can feel his palms growing sweaty as he watches her use her arm to brush against her eyes, knowing he has weapons in his hands… He _knows_ what the Gamemakers are expecting him to do… But he just can't attack her. He doesn't even know if he can attack out of defense… He is really hoping he doesn't have to get the answer now.

Sky looks back up and glances up and down the hallway. Davy tenses up and tries to shrink back into the wall, almost positive that Sky is going to see him. But she soon turns and starts heading in the opposite direction of Davy. Once her back is turned, Davy wastes no time in running away from her, back to the safety of his room. He knows he is making noise as his hearing aid buzzes with each step, but he doesn't care. He just needs to get back into his safety.

It seems to take much longer to get back to the door with the slash he made and Davy pushes it open, stepping inside right away and whimpering in fear as he shuts the door, bringing him back to safety. Davy is breathing heavy as he looks at the wolves, staring back at them and unable to read their body language. Part of him waits for them to attack, knowing that he couldn't even attack a tribute when he had the chance to. He had the chance to bring their numbers down to twelve, but didn't take it.

"Tomorrow," Davy slowly tells the wolves, still gripping onto his knife defensively as he tries to reason with the Gamemakers. "I will find food tomorrow."

Davy watches the wolves for a minute before they slowly start to relax once more and he does the same. But he can't fully relax, not when he knows what kind of promise he just made and what he just got himself into…

If Davy doesn't go through on his promise, the Gamemakers will take action.

* * *

 _Elias Pilkvist, 17, District Six_

All his life, Elias has had someone telling him what he should do. First his parents, forcing him to learn how to fight. But he did not want to do what they told him. Then they abandoned him…

But then he had Cecy who took him in off the streets when his parents left him behind. She was more of a family to him than his actual family ever was. She taught him that he can use what his parents trained him to do for something good and he liked bringing home money from the fighting pits for her. But he had to leave her…

He was so scared at first being with the victors, but Dampero was a good mentor. He was always coming up with ideas and suggestions for Elias. He was the one who told him he should have an ally. When Genesis offered the alliance…he was so happy. He felt worthwhile having someone to be with him in the arena. But then the careers took her away…

Elias does not understand what he has done to have had this much pain in his life. What did he do wrong that his parents forced him to fight to the point where he became permanently disabled? What did he do to be reaped when he was finally happy and had a good life with Cecy? They did not have a lot of money, but he had Cecy, and that was all he needed. When he found Genesis, he was so happy to have her as his ally…What did he do to deserve losing her? Did they find out he has not told them that he already does not have a sense of touch and damaged taste and smell and want to punish him for that? He has been so very careful to keep this secret…but they probably know… This is all his fault. He is to blame for Genesis being gone.

Elias has gone through a lot in his life, but he has never gone through loss like this. He never knew he could hurt this much. He does not know what physical pain is like…but if it is anything like this, he is glad he does not know. This pain…he does not know how to get past it.

Elias slumps down against the wall, staring blankly down the mostly dark hallway as he slides down to the floor. He just feels so…so empty. Before he had so many emotions that he did not know how to handle but now he just feels numb and empty. He does not know what to feel or what to even do next. He does not know what to do without someone here telling him what step he should take next.

He is just a mindless person, unable to even think for himself.

Elias has tried so hard to move on from what his parents did to him…but he has not changed. He still depends on someone giving him direction. And when the careers found him…he did exactly what they trained him to do. He fought back against them without even thinking about it. He did exactly what he does not want to do. And he is afraid.

He does not want to hurt anyone. But how can he do that when he must get home to Cecy? If he gets home to her, they can afford all the fixes to their shack. He can get her all the things she needs to make her crafts. Nothing would make him happier than being able to support her like that. But he is so afraid of turning into the monster his parents tried to make him.

"What am I supposed to do?" Elias whispers out loud, desperate for some sort of guidance. He does not know anymore what he should do. All he has done is stumbled around, trying to find his purpose. But what if there is no purpose for him in these Games? …Or what if his purpose is to do what his parents trained him for? "Please help me…"

Elias curls up into a ball, leaning against the wall and staring out into the darkness. He knows he should find somewhere to hide, but all he wants to do is cry, yet his eyes stay dry. "I am sorry I could not protect you…"

A door swings open right next to Elias and he jumps in surprise, not realizing he had stopped next to it. A tribute falls down to the floor, groaning in pain as he tries to push himself up but his arm gives out under him. Elias is frozen in shock, watching Arthur as he tries to get to his feet, his arms slashed up and blood covering the once white toga. A large roar sounds from the door behind him and Arthur quickly shuts it, struggling to find it.

Elias lets out a small whimper of fear at the mutt that made that sound and Arthur immediately turns his head in his direction, making him grow even more afraid as he faces the tribute only a couple feet away from there. "Who's there?" Arthur asks harshly, but his voice wavers as he stares blindly at Elias.

"E-Elias," he stutters out at the pressure of Arthur asking him who is there. Arthur's face pales under the blood on it and Elias starts scrambling to his feet, wanting to get away from him. He does not want to get hurt or hurt anyone and he does not know if anyone else in the arena will not attack first like him. But his prostheses slide on the smooth stone floor, sending him sliding into Arthur.

They both cry out as they are knocked to the floor and Elias tries to push himself away as he keeps trying to get his prostheses under him with a solid grip. One slips and strikes Arthur in the leg and the boy groans in pain before swinging his fist towards Elias.

Elias instinctively dodges the punch and quickly punches in return, sending Arthur's head back as he had no way to see the punch coming and avoid it. Arthur groans in pain loudly and tries to pull himself away from Elias, fear all over his face as he looks around to try and find him. Elias stares at him for a few seconds, terrified at the slow realization that he is the reason Arthur is afraid, before finally standing up and running away from him.

Elias runs blindly down the hallway, having no idea where he is going. All he knows is that he must get away from Arthur. He keeps looking back as he runs, afraid that Arthur will chase after him, but the only sound he can hear is the soft clinking of the metal prostheses against the stone floor.

 _Boom._

Elias stops suddenly, taking a shaky breath as he slowly looks back in the direction he ran from. His eyes begin to water as he stares back, knowing what he did. He caused that cannon to happen… He fought back against Arthur when he could have just ran away. Arthur could not see him. He was injured and did not have any weapons, yet Elias still fought back against him. He did not mean to hurt him…but he did. He hurt Arthur and now he is dead and it is Elias' fault.

Elias crumples down to the floor as he lets out a sob, terrified of himself. He puts his hands over his face and shakes his head, wishing he was not like this. He thought he was free from the influence of his parents. They were being investigated by the President. They were no longer near him. And yet…they still have so much control over what he does. He is still doing exactly what they wanted, no matter how much he wants to be his own person.

"What is wrong with me?"

* * *

 _Odyssey Gunderson, 18, District Two_

Odyssey is starting to realize he probably should have listened to his mother more when she repeatedly told him to plan things better. They were always butting heads about him not planning his future out more. But he thought it was going to be straightforward: volunteer for the Games, win them, then become a successful drag queen. Easy – well, winning wouldn't _exactly_ be easy – concept for getting the fame to pursue his dream and make a living from it.

It's only night two and things have been so much more complicated than he expected.

He didn't think he would be picked to lead the career pack. He doesn't mind it and he's happy they trusted him to lead them. Except…he's not very good at figuring out things for them to do. They haven't really been successful at finding the other tributes and making any kills, except for Delta killing Carameuse – but the Gamemakers put them together. And he did eventually kill Genesis…but he doesn't know how to feel about that. It was different in the adrenaline of the bloodbath to slip into the mindset of training and do precisely what Kat has been teaching him for years. Just fight and show the others he belongs here just as much as they do. But now…it's just different. And he isn't sure he likes this feeling.

Odyssey hasn't exactly been doing well at figuring out long term plans for the pack, just taking it one day at a time. They don't have an exact schedule for who goes out when and people just decide on a whim basically that they want to go hunting. Like Bell just deciding to go searching with Demarcus tonight.

Who is also a big part of why this is so complicated.

He _really_ didn't expect the feelings…any of them. But now feels like an idiot for not seeing it so much sooner. All the signs were there and it's so painfully obvious to Odyssey now, looking back on everything that has happened. If he hadn't been in such denial and focused on the Games… He doesn't want to think about how everything would have been different. Not now that he is in the Games and he can't change that. He made the decision and now he has to follow through with it. But does he wish he didn't break his friend's heart and that he was back in Two with Misha right now? Absolutely.

Odyssey has been trying to do what Darach told him after the party, but he just…can't push aside the guilt in him. Not when every time he looks at Bell and can see how much she is clearly hurting, yet she refuses to talk to him more than the bare minimum required for their alliance. And while he so badly wants to avoid the confrontation of this and the blame and the pain from Bell that he caused, he knows they can't keep up like this. It's distracting both of them. And distractions get tributes killed in the Games. He just wants to be unified with Bell once more – as much as they can after what has happened. He _needs_ someone to count on in the arena with him.

Odyssey holds back a yawn as he leans against the cornucopia, bow held loosely in his hand and an arrow notched, ready to fire if he needs to. He didn't want to take watch tonight because he'd like more sleep, but he knew he would just toss and turn, too worried about not sorting things out with Bell before something happens to one of them. The Trial by Combat has made him realize he needs to be taking this more seriously… He can't get through this with jokes and pushing things aside. He doesn't want to regret not trying to talk to her if something happens to her first…

So here he is, staying up for when Bell gets back. Surely they must be getting tired too and want to return soon…

Odyssey starts slipping against the cornucopia and jolts awake, blinking a few times before rubbing his eyes. Damn it, he needs to sleep soon. But he can't. Not until-

Odyssey has his bow raised and arrowed pulled back in a second when he sees a tribute start down the stairs towards the pit, but quickly relaxes when he sees another soon following. Bell looks up at him as he takes a few steps towards her when she reaches the pit before scowling a little and turning back to Demarcus, guiding him back to their camp. "How did it go?"

"Just fine, Demarcus got himself a kill," Bell answers coldly as she walks past him, not meeting his gaze. She starts taking off her bag, still avoiding him. "The boy from Eleven is dead. Found him already half dead. And now I'm going to sleep."

"Bell, wait," Odyssey reaches out and gently grabs her wrist, stopping her from storming off from him like she's done every time he's tried to talk to her alone. She glares down at the hand on her wrist, but he doesn't let go yet. He knows she'll just leave and they'll never have this conversation. "Please, I know you don't want to talk about what happened and I also hate conflict about myself and don't want to have this conversation, but we have to."

Bell finally meets his gaze and the sadness and anger and pain in her eyes makes Odyssey want to just go hide in the cornucopia and avoid ever talking about this, yet he forces himself to stand his ground, fear of regret overweighing his dislike of confrontation. "Can you please let go of my arm?"

"Not if you're going to run away," Odyssey answers right away and from the look on her face, he knows that is exactly what she was planning on doing. "Bell-"

"Don't 'Bell' me with that sad puppy look in your eyes," Bell holds up her hand to point at him in accusation and Odyssey holds up his other hand defensively. "It is not helping me."

"Guess we're at an impasse," Odyssey tells her and they stare at each other for a few long seconds, Odyssey pleading with her silently and Bell's expression going through a variety of emotions. "Please."

Bell lets out a loud sigh and Odyssey starts grinning, knowing she's giving in to the conversation. "Stop that," she tells him, still pointing at him accusingly. "That damn goofy smile is part of why we ended up in this mess in the first place."

Odyssey chuckles at this, happy she is at least talking to him. "I can't help my handsome looks," he jokes before realizing that maybe that isn't the best thing to joke about right now when the smile she had been fighting fades away.

Bell looks around at their allies nearby, Delta, Anastacia, and Major still sleeping while Demarcus sits at the fire, staring at it blindly in deep thought. "Not right here where some of them can hear."

Odyssey nods his head in all seriousness before finally letting go of her wrist now that she won't run away and gestures away from their allies. "Good idea. Lead the way."

Bell leads him over to the stands in silence and they both take a seat next to each other, staring back at their allies around the cornucopia. Odyssey tries to think about what to say but now that they're actually going to have the conversation, he's at a loss for words.

"Well?" Bell finally asks him and he glances over at her. "You're the one that wanted this conversation, so talk."

"I'm trying to figure out what to say," Odyssey says defensively before biting his lip, unhappy with sounding a little harsh towards her. "Sorry, I'm not good at this and talking about things regarding me. Look, I…" Odyssey hesitates once again and Bell briefly looks at him before turning away, her eyes watering already. "Shit, Bell, do you really think I wanted to do this to you? You're my _friend_. I would never intentionally hurt one of my friends."

"Yeah, well, you did," Bell tells him, voice dripping in bitterness and he can't blame her one bit. He looks down at his hands in his lap, sighing heavily as he tries to make her see that he's telling the truth.

"I promise you, Bell, I had absolutely no idea," Odyssey turns to face her, needing her to believe him.

"It was pretty damn obvious," Bell mutters under her breath before looking up at the sky and blinking rapidly to hold back tears. "But I guess I couldn't compete with a victor."

"Misha being a victor isn't why," Odyssey tells her right away. It's…a lot more than that that draws him towards Misha, but telling Bell these things probably won't help this situation. "I can't help that my feelings for you are just platonic. I don't know if that would have been different if we were in a different scenario… I just always knew that there was no possibility where more than one of us was making it out of the Games alive."

Bell turns to look at him, tears finally falling down her cheeks. "I know that, yet it didn't change things for me."

"I'm sorry, Bell," Odyssey says softly, trying to stop himself from feeling even worse at the sight of her crying. "But…it's going to be for the best that it ended up this way."

"That's what Glacia said," Bell grumbles as she crosses her arms.

"Well Glacia is a smart woman," Odyssey says with a smile. "But…there was no way things ever could have worked out with us so it's better this way… If you win, you can still find someone back home that you can actually be with," Odyssey tells her, even if the thought of not winning – and what that would do to Misha and his family – pains him. He gives her shoulder a bump with his own, cracking a little bit of a smile as he tries to lighten the mood. "And treat you like the queen that you are."

Bell lets out a bitter scoff at this. "And if you win, you can go run home to Misha who already treats you like the queen you are."

"I…" Odyssey sighs at how bitter she sounds. "Yes, I would go to him. I won't lie to you about that. I can't think of one instance where I have lied to you…"

Bell gives her own sigh at this. "It would be easier if you did so I could just hate you. But here we are, me stupidly talking to you when I knew it would just rip open my heart again."

"It's not stupid," Odyssey answers her, frowning a bit. "And that wasn't why I wanted to talk to you. I…we need to be working together, Bell. We made a pact that we would stick together to the end to make sure District Two won another Quell. And despite everything that has happened, I still want to keep that pact with you."

"Fighting with you in the end would completely destroy me," Bell says, barely above a whisper, and Odyssey immediately shakes his head at this, refusing to think about the scenario where he has to fight her. _God_ , that would destroy him too. "But…"

"But what?" Odyssey asks when she pauses for a long time.

Bell turns to finally face him fully and she takes a deep breath as she shakes her head, "I really hope I don't regret this later on, but…despite everything, I'll still fight with you until the end."

* * *

 _Adam Vignola, 18, District Seven_

Adam wakes up suddenly at the blinding lights and he blinks rapidly in fear, knowing that someone will be approaching him, but he has no clue since he can't hear anything. Two days…two days and he still doesn't have his hearing. They told him they don't know if they can restore it after they damaged his tracker in order to get him out of the arena. At least, that's what they say.

Adam is beginning to suspect that maybe they just have chosen not to restore his hearing as one more thing to hold over him. One more way to push him into revealing to them where his son is… He doesn't know how much more of this he can take, how much more he can keep telling these people that he doesn't know where in the Capitol they are keeping his son. But as much as never getting his hearing back terrifies him…there is no way he will tell them, even if he did know. Not after they have threatened and beaten him for the last two days. They didn't care about him, not really. Just the fact that he is the parent of Cedar's son. A son who is a descendent of the key rebel family in Seven.

That was why they came up with an elaborate plan to fake his death and sneak him away. Not because they wanted to save _him_. No…they thought he was still pregnant and they could snatch his baby away from him, raise him up to be rebellious with them and just cause more death.

Even if he knew the exact location, Adam is not going to tell them where Cain is. He will die before he lets his son get into harm's way. He doesn't want his son at risk of getting involved in this violence – violence he didn't know was a threat to the country until less than a week ago. And if he can keep his location and Tara safe…he'll take that information to the grave. He won't let anyone get hurt on his behalf.

Adam whimpers in fear as he moves into the corner of his cell, terrified of the new person approaching and what kind of torture they might inflict on him next. He thought they were done for the day, having questioned him earlier… _Be strong, Adam._

He keeps his head down and just sees a set of footsteps stop in front of the bars keeping him locked up, refusing to look at them, until they crouch down and slide a cup of water and small loaf of bread into his cell. Then he slowly picks up his gaze and stares at the young woman staring back, squinting his eyes against the bright lights for a moment before recognizing her. "I know you."

Khaya smiles sadly at him as she takes the notepad tucked under her shoulder and writes a response to him. Adam waits in apprehension, arms wrapped tight around himself and not trusting her…not now that he knows she is with _them_. "I'm sorry this is happening to you," Khaya tells him before gesturing to the food and water. Adam makes no movement towards it, not trusting anything from these people, causing Khaya to frown at him as she sits down on the floor to write again. "Please believe me."

Adam shakes his head at this, "I'd like to, but you people haven't given me much reason to believe that you won't hurt me further…" Adam stares at the water, his throat growing scratchy and making him realize just how parched he is and wants to chug the water, but not trusting her. He stares at Khaya for a long moment, feeling a little betrayed that she approached him at Cedar's funeral knowing the people she is part of and who Adam was to Cedar.

"I didn't know they were going to do this to you," Khay tells him, her eyes watering up as she stares at him and gestures to his beat up body before flipping to a different page and writing for a long time. "I don't want violence, not to people who are innocent. I just want the Games to end. And I know this isn't what Cedar would want."

The mention of Cedar makes Adam's eyes start watering as he starts to feel…betrayed by the man he loved. He didn't know his family could do this to him…did he ever really know him? Adam shakes his head at her as he curls up further. "I don't even know anymore who he was."

Khaya presses her lips together at this and Adam turns away from her, hating that despite everything these people have done to him, he still is feeling pity for her being upset right now. He glances back when he sees movement from the corner of his eye as she turns the paper back towards him. "He wanted the Games to end."

"I know that," Adam answers, feeling so…broken by that knowledge. It was part of what led to them breaking up, all because Cedar couldn't handle Adam not wanting to take any action. Not when it would cause too much violence and loss of innocent lives.

Khaya stares at him for a long moment before her shoulders hunch over and she looks defeated as she keeps writing to him for a long time, leaving Adam alone in his thoughts about Cedar and where things went wrong before his death. "I don't know if he told you, but he cared about your son."

Adam tenses up at this, immediately on guard and protective for his son, believing this is just another way they are trying to get him to reveal Cain's location. "I really don't know where he is," Adam whispers as he turns away from her, trying to hide the tears forming in his eyes as he thinks about his son. He so desperately wants to hold him again… But he doesn't think that will ever happen again. "Please just leave me alone… He's safe in the Capitol, that's all I know…"

Adam stares facing the back wall for a long time, tears slowly starting to fall down his cheeks as he thinks about his baby. He knew being a parent was going to be difficult, but he never imagined it would be this tough…

Movement catches his attention and he turns to find Khaya has thrown the notepad into the cell near him since she can't just call for him. He slowly looks down at what she has written now, not wanting to fight again against another person questioning him. "I don't want to hurt you. The others don't know what they are doing and I don't think they would agree. Let me talk to them and see what we can do."

Adam glances back at her at this, confused and scared by what she wrote, yet wanting to believe she is telling the truth… That she might get them to stop hurting him. He _wants_ to believe her…

Something in Adam believes her… He slides the notebook back to her before he slowly starts crawling over to the food and water, whimpering at the throbbing pain through his whole body. His hand shakes as he reaches for the water and he nearly spills it trying to bring the cup up to his mouth. He tries to take slow sips, but as soon as the water touches his dry throat, he chugs the glass in a few seconds. He wipes at his mouth using the tattered clothes they gave him and gives a small smile at her as he trades the cup for the bread and takes a small bite, cherishing the taste of food. "Thank you."

Khaya reaches through the bars, holding her palm up to him and waits for his response. He reaches towards her slowly and when he takes her hand, she gives his a gentle squeeze. She says something to him and he points at his ear, reminding her that he can't hear her, and she quickly writes out a note. "I'm going to get you out of this because I know Cedar would have done that."

Adam nods his head as he lets go of her hand, not wanting to upset her by telling her the truth. He doesn't know if Cedar would have done that…he couldn't even love Adam for who he truly is…

Khaya pats his hand a couple times before taking her arm and the cup out of his cell. She does her best to give him a reassuring smile. "Stay strong."

"I'll try," Adam whispers before taking another bite of bread, trying to hold back his tears. Khaya stands up and quietly walks away from him, leaving him there to be a sad crying mess as he eats his bread.

He's trying to be strong, he really is. But he just wants to be with his son so badly, yet he can't reveal who has Cain to these people. To keep him safe, Adam will never be able to see his baby again.

* * *

 **Eulogies:**

 _Arthur Bramble [11], Ranked 13th, Killed by Demarcus [4]:_

 _Ah Arthur. He was such a fun take on a tribute from Eleven and really could have gotten far in a different arena that was more plant based with the survival skills that he had. But he didn't get that and also got poor odds from losing his sense of sight. There was only so much he could do after literally getting trapped in a room with bear mutts until the Gamemakers let him go... But he still did his best. Thank you for sending him, Galactic Coach! RIP Arthur._

 **And with that, we are down to _twelve_ already! Nearly halfway through the tributes already and it's only the end of Night Two. Better buckle up because things are just gonna keep getting crazy from here on out XD**

 **Now we have finally heard from all of the tributes! So fun fact (not really fun lol), I had to completely rewrite Adam's POV because I forgot that he lost his hearing XD I knew it would happen eventually lol and I'm just glad I realized before posting the chapter. Now I bet you didn't expect that was what was going on with him and the rebels. There is still a lot more to be revealed with the rebels!**

 **I guess all I'll ask with this chapter is who do you think will be death #12 that brings us to the official halfway point?**

 **Well I will see you all soon with Day Three! It is going to be quite...chaotic XD**


	36. Day Three: Extravaganza

**Chapter 32:**

 _Day Three_

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

The sound of someone clearing their throat behind him has Seraphim picking up his head from his desk and letting out a big yawn, exhaustion quickly setting in with the Games reaching the third day. Not even a constant supply of coffee can keep him going for much longer. "Yes, Laelia?" Seraphim asks as he glances over his shoulder to see the young Gamemaker there, her hands behind her back and looking a little nervous as she holds back a smile.

Laelia soon gives him a grin that immediately puts him on edge. "Well, we have had a…unique sponsor request."

Seraphim sighs at this and shakes his head at her, knowing this can't be good. "Define unique."

Laelia holds back laughter as she tells him, "Someone wants to send a cool hat to every tribute." Seraphim stares at her, blinking a few times as his tired brain tries to wrap his head around why someone would want to spend that much on hats compared to items that are actually useful for the tributes. Laelia keeps going in his silence, giving further explanation, "They randomized twelve different hats and they are ready to send them. We just all agreed that we should inform you first."

"But…why?" Seraphim asks, still confused by all of this. "I don't understand."

Laelia simply shrugs at him. "Do we need a why? Someone thought it would be entertaining."

"There's literally a rebel threat right now and someone wants to waste their money on hats," Seraphim tells her, just in disbelief at this.

"Yeah, but the public doesn't know this," Laelia points out and Seraphim sighs, knowing she's right. "And right now, our job is to keep them entertained and unaware of that threat. So, in the spirit of the sponsoring, well…" Laelia steps forward and before Seraphim can stop her, she puts a headband with a halo on his head. "You get to be part of the cool hat extravaganza too!"

Seraphim can feel the halo bouncing around with every small movement of his head and lets out a loud sigh. "Laelia, there is an impending rebel threat right now.

"Come on, Seraphim," Zephyr says with a laugh as he steps into the Headquarters, holding a large coffee and plate full of breakfast foods. He sets the meal down in front of Seraphim, before leaning over and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "You need some fun right now. The rebels aren't your problem right now."

"But they are," Seraphim tells him, rubbing his eyes to try and wake up a bit more before taking a few sips of coffee. "My mother is at risk and I don't trust the rebels to not do something else with the Games. Why didn't they stop Holly's death? It doesn't make sense. And this halo is not helping the situation."

"But now you're really your Mom's little angel!" Laelia tells him, clearing trying to cheer him up but she just gets a glare from Seraphim that Zephyr chuckles at.

"I told you not to bring that up," Seraphim tells her quietly, looking around to see if any of the other Gamemakers overheard her.

Laelia pulls up a chair next to him and starts picking at one of the donuts on the plate of food, making Zephyr let out a noise of annoyance. "Oh please, we all know that your mother calls you that. It's cute. She's such a nice woman and we all love her."

"She is," Seraphim agrees as he picks up a donut for himself. "And why I am stressed about her safety and don't understand the point of sending all of the tributes cool hats right now."

"Does there have to be a point?" Zephyr asks him and Seraphim shrugs at him, knowing that the answer is no, but he just likes having a reason. "Then just let the Capitol have their fun. But I would hurry up and send it before you have any cannons to fire," he adds as he points over to the screens.

Seraphim turns around, making the halo annoyingly bounce on his head, but he soon forgets about it as he tenses up and is fully alert right away when he realizes what is going on in the arena right now. "Get those gifts sent right away to distract them. Don't let them ruin my plan."

* * *

 _Bellona Silvanus, 18, District Two_

Bell knows what she should be doing right now. She's studied so many past Games and knows the signs to look for in a career pack that is on the verge of disaster, and their pack is heading right for it. The mood has been tense all morning as the lack of rest and the number of remaining tributes left has put them all on edge. Even Bell has snapped a bit at the others this morning, on edge as she thinks about what could happen next.

The biggest concern for her is the fact that they make up half of the remaining tributes left and haven't had any casualties of their own… A fact that has put herself and some of the others have clearly realized as they sit around, trying to figure out a plan. How long will it be until the Gamemakers force a casualty on them? The next Trial by Combat has been looming in the back of her mind, making her anxious as she thinks about all the combinations they could have that would force the careers to fracture. Or maybe they're just going to wait for them to snap on their own and cause even bigger loss. Bell doesn't like either of those options and knows she should just leave the alliance now while she can. She could just go out hunting with Demarcus and just leave him. Not like he would be able to tell the others where she went. Or she could take him down before he even had any idea…

Yet her damn heart has her sticking around when she should get the hell out of here. She can't just leave now after talking to Odyssey last night and once again agreeing to stick together to the end – even if that decision is already haunting her. She knows he'll want to stick with the pack because he's too good and finally starting to accept his role as their leader. And also…the petty part of her wants to see what Anastacia has planned. Now that Bell knows what Major is up to…she's pissed that she didn't see his manipulation before he did it to her. She's the one that should be calling the shots with their allies, but she didn't see it.

And it's all that damn boy's fault.

But no more. She needs to get her damn feelings pushed aside already and focus on getting the hell out of this arena alive. And that means getting her other allies taken down. Now that she knows about Major…he might be the second biggest threat to her, after Odyssey. Odyssey…no, that's something to worry about later. Major is clearly too smart to keep him around for much longer, but how can she do that without Odyssey getting caught in the crossfire? And then there's Delta, the next threat. At least she's more predictable and just a loose cannon. Maybe she can set her off against Major and then whoever survives will be weak enough to easily pick off. Then the blind duo… Bell does like Anastacia and Demarcus, but they're not going to win in a fight against another career. The Games aren't time for forming friendship…

Which is how they are where they are right now.

"Would you stop pacing?" Major snaps at Delta, sitting up from where he was laying down to glare at the pacing girl from Four. "I can't nap when the ground shakes every time you stomp by."

"Then stop laying around and do something," Delta snaps back at him before looking around at the rest of them all just sitting there. "Why the fuck are we just sitting around? There's twelve tributes left! We should be looking for them!"

"Some of us can't exactly look for tributes," Anastacia says with a scoff.

Major crosses his arms, pouting as he glares back at Delta. "What did you say?"

"Please stop," Demarcus says quietly, turning his head around as he tries to listen to what is going on around him and clearly growing anxious by the second.

"I said you're a little bitch," Delta rolls her eyes at Major and Bell tries to hold back a snicker while Anastacia openly laughs.

"Hey, that's a little unnecessary, don't you think?" Odyssey says carefully, jumping up to get closer to Delta and Major, clearly ready to be a dumbass and stop a fight between them if it gets to it instead of just letting them bring their numbers down before the Gamemakers decide to do so.

Bell shakes her head as she gets up, knowing this is not going to end well and a part of her is also being a dumbass about Odyssey. "Odyssey, don't," Bell says quietly as she reaches out and puts a hand on his shoulder, making him glance back at her.

"We can't be fighting like this among ourselves," Odyssey tries to reason with the group, but from everyone else's faces, Bell doesn't think they're going to be listening to him. Well, Demarcus looks like he wants to be anywhere but in the middle of this argument and Major can't listen at all. "Hang on, Major," Odyssey says as he holds out his hand to stop Major from sassing them about not knowing what is happening.

Bell looks around at the others as Odyssey starts writing to Major, knowing he is putting himself at risk by not paying attention to them. Some slowly starting to reach for weapons, and Bell knows if it comes down to it, she'll now get caught in the middle of this and only has a knife right now. "Odyssey is right," Bell says slowly, even though she had already been thinking about how she could start bringing down their numbers. "Fighting like this is what let an outer District tribute win last year. Do you really want this to happen again this year? Hell no."

"Bell is right," Odyssey agrees with her quickly, looking up from writing to Major and Bell can see his shoulders tense as he looks at Delta and Anastacia getting defensive. "Let's not do anything rash here…"

They stare each other down for a tense minute, Odyssey standing his ground and not reaching for any weapon, but Bell knows he could be ready in a moment if he needs to. Delta and Major really don't look like they want to stand down and Bell is starting to get very concerned that the split is going to happen now.

"I don't want to fight," Demarcus finally speaks up, bringing the attention of the others over to him. His arms are wrapped around himself and his anxiety is written all over his face, yet he's still standing up to them. "Please, stop arguing."

Another minute passes in tense silence, until a familiar beeping sound has them all looking up at the sky. Six silver canisters are gently falling towards them, putting Bell on guard. Mass sponsor gifts haven't been a good thing in the past… "See?" Odyssey says as he catches the one floating towards him with a '2' on the side. "The Gamemakers don't want us fighting right now."

Bell grabs her canister, trying not to laugh when Anastacia is hit on the head with her own and she groans in pain before rubbing the spot. "A heads up would have been nice – don't," she holds her hand up in Odyssey's general direction before he can comment on the accidental pun she made, making him chuckle a little.

"Come on, Anastacia, who doesn't love a good pun?" Odyssey says, chuckling some more as Anastacia opens her canister and pulls out a hard hat. "There you go, someone is _looking_ out for you!"

Somehow that breaks the tension that was in the group and they all groan at Odyssey's bad joke as they start to pull out their own hats. Bell shakes her head as she opens hers and finds her hat is a stuffed pile of poop with a smiley face. When she looks up and sees Odyssey swapping his octopus hat for a pink princess cone hat, complete with ribbon on the end, she starts pouting. "How come you get the princess hat and I get a poop hat?"

Odyssey laughs at this as he takes the hat from Bell and puts it on her head, covering up her greasy hair – something she won't complain about too much. "Come on, Bell, you gotta wear the hat." Bell pouts a bit at him, but soon even she can't help but laugh a little with him standing in front of her in a princess hat.

"At least this has a cute bow, unlike the squid," Major grumbles to himself as he puts on a rainbow unicorn hat.

"I don't want to wear this," Delta says as she tosses her wizard hat to the ground before crossing her arms and stomping away from them, walking towards the edge of the pit to stew in her anger.

Demarcus clears his throat and Bell looks over at him, finding him very confused as he holds a headband in his hands and turns it around as he tries to figure out what it is. "Can someone tell me what this is?"

"Just put the headband on," Bell tells him, laughing a little at the sight of it, but realizing the irony of it. "It's a headband that makes it look like you have a knife sticking out of your head."

Demarcus frowns at this, "Why would I want that?"

"Well you can just pretend to be dead in a pinch with that hat," Odyssey jokes, but Bell can hear his voice is strained from the thought that they could have been in that pinch just now and some of them dead…

Odyssey shares a look with her, clearly relieved that they didn't get to a fight, and Bell finds herself feeling the same way. She gives him a small nod, reassuring him that she will stick to her word and fight with him. Even though the tension has temporarily been diffused…Bell knows it's only a matter of time before they reach this point again and they aren't stopped. She needs to come up with a plan to get her and Odyssey out of here now.

* * *

 _Fete Bayard, 18, District Eight_

Fete knows he's letting down Astrid and Clark, and probably all of District Eight, and making them realize their chances of having back to back victors is so unlikely. But how can he possibly have hope of winning when all of the careers are still alive? Fete knows he isn't going to be killing any of them, let alone more than one if he were attacked by the group. He doesn't understand why anyone would sponsor him in the first place, let alone a second time, even if it is a dumb little rainbow hat with a spinning fan on the top. But the soup…as bitter as he was at first for it, he knows now that he would be in a lot worse shape if he didn't have that to hold him over.

But why does he deserve to have these gifts? He's done nothing but mope around in this room for the past three days, just waiting for someone to take pity on him. But no one has entered his room and when someone _was_ outside of it, they weren't let in, leaving him to sit in silence and just sleep next to the warm forge. And he feels ridiculous admitting it, but…

He's bored.

How the hell is he bored in the Hunger Games? Yet he is… Fete feels like a real dumbass for feeling this way. Here he is bored when his best friend is _dead_. Could he be a shittier friend? First he got her killed, now he's just wasting away in the arena. Just like he was wasting away at home by drinking himself to sleep every night. Why was Atropa ever friends with him? He's not a good person.

"Fuck, Fete, get your shit together already," Fete grumbles to himself as he kicks around at the cabinet in the room out of boredom. He stops when the door creaks open, not having expected the Gamemakers to actually let him in to whatever is on the shelves. It was why he hadn't bothered trying to open it in the first place.

Fete hesitantly opens the door, half expecting some sort of trap, but just finds some bricks of metal and tools inside to work with it. He picks up the hammer, testing out the weight of it for a moment, even giving it a couple swings. He's…not going to be impressing anyone with his strength, but maybe he can scare someone away with it. Ah, who is he kidding, he got a 1 in training. He's not intimidating anyone that can see.

Which…the one who killed Atropa can't see… He wishes he wasn't so pathetic and could go on some grand mission to get revenge on Anastacia for killing Atropa. Maybe then he would be deserving of people actually rooting for him to win. He's just fooling himself with the hammer, really. No one should be fooled by the sight of him.

Fete sighs as he picks up a few bricks of metal, surprised at the weight of it. He turns one around, wondering about using this as a makeshift weapon, but his arms are already straining from the weight of it. He tosses them aside in the little bucket next to the forge, cringing at the noise caused by it. Great, good job Fete. Make some noise to draw them right to you.

Fete skims over the rest of the cabinet, finding nothing that would actually be useful for him. There's no way he'll attempt to use the weapon molds – or even a guarantee that the Gamemakers will let him use the forge. And he doesn't even have a single clue what to do aside from melting the metal down and pouring it.

He really is pathetic.

But with the cabinet searched through, Fete's boredom just continues to grow, and he paces the room, finding nothing else that can preoccupy his time. He could just nap some more…but the room is starting to smell from him having to piss and shit in a corner and he doesn't want to stay here any longer.

It might be time for him to finally move.

He knows it might be his funeral, but he isn't going to just sit here and die from boredom. That would just add further insult to Atropa's death. And yet, Fete stares at the door for a few minutes, trying to will himself to go over to it already. He is afraid of dying in this arena, even if he hasn't done much to stay alive…

 _Atropa wouldn't have sat around like this._

Fete shuts his eyes for a moment, being able to picture in his head what she would say to him if she was still here… _"Come on Feet Boy, move your butt so you can get home to your cats."_

Fete shakes his head as he opens his eyes, finding tears falling down his cheeks. He has to try to win for them… He can't just keep sitting around here, waiting for something to happen or else the Gamemakers will make something happen to him and he won't survive that.

Before he can lose what little resolve he has built up, Fete heads towards the door, pushing down thoughts that the Gamemakers won't let him leave the room. It swings open right away, not making any sound, and Fete pokes his head out, glancing up and down the hallway before stepping out when it's clear. His heart is racing as he holds onto his hammer with both hands and starts moving down the hallway at a quick pace. Well, at least his boredom is gone now, replaced by fear as adrenaline pumps through him and he's the most alert he's felt in days.

Fete walks past one door on his right and keeps going, not wanting to stay that close to the room he was just in, and he picks up his pace as it's opposite a staircase. He keeps walking and walking, passing two more doors and just not knowing where to stop, afraid of picking a room that has a tribute in it. But the further he walks without any encounters, he can start to feel the initial adrenaline starting to wear off, leaving him feeling exhausted once more. He can feel his eyes prickling out of annoyance and hatred towards himself that he can't even walk around the arena without exhausting himself… How is he ever going to fight anyone and try to win?

This is why no one should be supporting him…

Fete uses the back of his arm to wipe at his eyes before picking the next door to enter, too angry at himself to hesitate at the door before opening it. If someone is in there…so be it. Let them kill his pitiful self.

But no one attacks when he steps inside the room and looks around, blinking back tears to see better where he is. And when he sees beds and even a tub in the corner, Fete stumbles further into the room, not caring at all if the beds aren't comfortable. He'll bathe at a later time to get the stench of three days without showering off of him, but he just wants to sleep now. Anywhere is better than napping on the hard ground.

Fete flops himself down, shutting his eyes right away and ready to use his one useful skill of being able to nap at any given time. But a bit of guilt nags the back of his mind, preventing him from falling asleep right away.

 _I'm sorry for being such a disappointment._

* * *

 _Sky Odum, 13, District Nine_

Sky stares at the wall, watching the Capitol seal fade away with no faces shown today. A boring day for the Capitol, she's sure because the sick fucks love watching them kill each other. Boring except for whatever resident dumbass of the Capitol decided to send her this lame umbrella hat. When is she even going to need to use it?! She's underground, for fucks sake! The Gamemakers aren't going to flood the lower level by making it rain here. Unless…actually, she can't guarantee that for sure.

Why does she even care what the Capitol does? She just wants to be out of this arena…yet she doesn't want to be back home in Nine where everything is just a bitter reminder of Marek. But she doesn't exactly want to die…she doesn't even think in death she would get to see him again. Marek's selfless ass would have gone straight to heaven and there's not a chance Sky is going anywhere but hell. She's not a good person, especially not compared to Marek Hall.

Really, it's no wonder he didn't care about her the same way she did about him. Who could ever love a bitter street rat like her? Certainly not Marek or his parents. And she doubts the Capitol likes her after she spent all of her time there yelling at them for what they did to Marek. Why would they want her to win these Games?

"Fuck," Sky says aloud as her eyes start watering against her will. Why is she crying again over stupid Marek? Why can't she move the fuck on from him already? Because she's still holding on to a piece of him, refusing to fully believe that he's gone…

Sky pulls out the playing card, flipping it around in her hands as she stares down at it. He was the one good thing to happen in her life… He was there for her after she kept going from orphanage to orphanage, lashing out at everyone after the death of her parents. He kept her from becoming this angry shell of herself and made her actually have something worth living for… But without him, she's become an even worse version of herself. He never would have wanted her to be this way and volunteer for the Games.

"You deserved someone better than me as your friend," Sky whispers, feeling her voice shaking, before sniffling. She turns her head up, fighting back the tears, but it's no use. "I loved you, you stupid idiot. Even if you didn't love me, I loved you…"

Sky tries to hold back a sob as she curls up against the wall, next to the bars of the jail cell in the room, but she can't hold it in. She knows she must be making too much noise, but she doesn't care at this point. She's held it in for so long, hanging onto the couple bad things that Marek did instead of letting herself keep remembering all the reasons why she loved him. "Why did you take him from me? Why?!"

Sky knows yelling at the Gamemakers isn't going to change the past… Nothing is ever going to bring him back to her. So why can't she just move on already? Sky turns the playing card around in her hands, still hearing that echo of his voice in her head and his dorky laugh, making her smile a tiny bit, the first time she's smiled in so long. She has to let go of him. He's never coming back and if she doesn't let go, she'll never get out of this arena alive. "You're always going to be my number one," Sky whispers before crumbling up the playing card and tossing it aside before standing up on shaking legs, gripping the jail cell bars for support. She stares at the crumpled up playing card for a few seconds, choking back a sob as she lets go of the one piece of Marek she's been holding onto for the last year.

She slowly steps towards the door, afraid to do this, but she has to. Yet she still hesitates with her hand on the doorknob to look back, giving herself one last chance to hold onto him. "Goodbye, Marek. Maybe I'll see you again…"

And with that, Sky steps out into the hallway and shuts the door behind her, letting out another sob. She has to do this. She has to let him go and stop holding onto a ghost. It's just so hard when he was the best thing to ever happen to her…

But Sky forces herself to take a step away from the card, refusing to turn back and pick it back up and smooth out the wrinkles, even if every bit inside of her is screaming to do that. Tears keep falling down her cheeks and she does her best to wipe them away as she slowly moves on, away from the past and down the hallway towards a future where maybe she could win… She needs to try… Marek would want her to try.

That thought puts a small smile on her face, surprising her that she can think about Marek and actually…be happy… She keeps walking ahead, starting to feel better with this choice with each step. Maybe she can actually do this.

But the smile soon falters as she looks ahead and sees a tribute stick their head out of a door. When they see her face, they quickly move back into the room, but Sky is already running towards them and she shoves the door with her shoulder, stopping them from shutting it.

She knows what she needs to do now… Sky is going to win these damn Games that she stupidly got herself into. She doesn't want to die, not yet… So she is going to win. For Marek.

* * *

 **Whoo things are starting to kick into gear! And hi there cliffhanger ending ;) We're nearly at the halfway point in the tributes and so you know that means things are just going to keep picking up pace from here. Also thank you Celtic for spending a lot of sponsor points to be chaotic with the Cool Hat Extravaganza XD We'll see what the other hats were soon but rest assured, they are just as amusing as the ones we saw so far.**

 **So what could be Seraphim's plan? Who will be the first casualty when the career pack finally breaks down? And who was Sky running towards?**

 **Not sure when the next update will happen but it could be soon considering this chapter happened in a few hours once I sat down and started writing XD So I'll see you hopefully soon with Night Three!**


	37. Night Three: Among The Wolves

**Chapter 33:**

 _Night Three_

 _Davy Emmerich, 14, District Five_

Davy knows he's running out of time to follow through on his promise to the Gamemakers… The anthem has been shown on the wall with no faces today so they must be coming up on the 24 hour mark since he told them he would go back out today to find food. He doesn't want to risk the wolves turning on him and having his face be the next one shown…

He's not going to be a dunce like that cap proclaimed him to be… Davy glances over at the hat, still confused and hurt by it, but…he is starting to think that it wasn't Letha. There was no note with it and Letha would never send him something like that.

 _He is not a dunce._

Davy may be terrified, but he is not dumb. He knows what the Gamemakers want from him and if they think calling him a dunce will get him moving…then they're right. He wants to prove to them that he can do this, just as much as he wants to show Leandro that he is going to get back home to him. He _has_ to get back home.

Which means it's time to do this. Time to find some food.

Davy stands in front of the door out of his room, knife in hand and hyperaware of the wolves behind him. With just a quick command from the Gamemakers, they can attack him and there would be no way he would get out of that alive if they didn't want him to. Which means he must show them that he is willing to do this.

 _For Leandro._

Davy takes a deep breath as he reaches towards the handle with a shaky hand, terrified of what he might find on the other side of the door, but less terrified of that than the wolves behind him that were once such comfort to him. Tributes are predictable. All of them are just trying to stay alive. But mutts? No one can predict what the Gamemakers have planned. Somehow six careers that have trained for years are less terrifying to him right now.

"Okay, I'm doing this," Davy says aloud and feels the device on his wrist buzz from his words, both to encourage himself to open the door and also to inform the Gamemakers not to attack him. No more waiting around…he has to get food.

Davy slowly opens the door, knife trembling in his hand with fear over having to use it. When no one is on the other side of the door, Davy hesitantly takes small steps, inching his way out of the room. He soon sticks his head out the door, just enough to look up and down the hallway to check that it's clear, but when he does, his heart starts racing immediately and Davy moves back into the room right away, but it's too late. He's been spotted.

Davy tries to slam the door shut as his wrist device's buzzing increases in intensity as Sky runs towards him before slamming her shoulder into the door, preventing him from shutting it completely. He puts his whole weight against the door, trying to get it shut, but she is doing the same to open it. His feet keep sliding on the stone floor, stopping him from getting the upperhand, and he turns to push with his back. He pleads at the wolves that sit against the back wall, watching him struggle, as tears of fear begin forming, "Please help me!"

But the wolves aren't the ones fighting to win the Games. Davy and Sky are the ones doing that.

Sky gives a huge shove against the door that sends him sprawling to the floor and she quickly jumps on top of him. Davy cries out as he tries rolling away from her, feeling her knife cut his shoulder. But she hangs onto him, even as he rolls over her and closer to the wolves. Sky grabs onto his hair, pulling his head back harshly and leaving his neck vulnerable and Davy barely has time to knock her hand away, but not before she starts to make a cut on his throat.

Davy's eyes begin to water in pain and fear as he realizes there's no stopping her from trying to kill him. He has to fight back against her. He swings his knife back at her and lets go of it when he feels it dig into flesh, immediately recoiling at the action. But it's enough to get Sky to let go of him and he pushes her away and scrambles to the opposite side of the room, watching as she pulls out his knife from her side, barely deep enough to do any damage.

Davy stares in fear as he realizes that he now no longer has a knife and he didn't even really harm her… "Sky, please, I don't want to fight," he tries to plead with her, hoping maybe she will stop, before realizing it's pointless since she can't even hear a word he just said.

Sky stares back at him for a few long seconds, both of them breathing heavy and Davy nearly petrified in fear. Sky says something before glancing down at the two knives she now holds, before starting to run towards him. Davy puts up his arms to shield his face from her, waiting to feel the sting of the knives, but it never comes.

Davy feels the vibration from noise and moves his arms, staring in horror at the sight of one of the wolves now attacking Sky and pinning her to the ground. She tries to fight it off, crying out as the wolf bites her shoulder. Davy presses himself further into the wall, terrified at what the wolf is doing, knowing that could have been him if he hadn't decided to leave. Another wolf comes over and bites her wrists, forcing her to drop the knives. The wolf that has stayed by his side steps over to Sky and Davy assumes that she will make the kill, but she just stares over at Davy expectantly, before leaning down to nudge a knife in his direction.

Davy is horrified at what the wolf wants him to do – or rather, the Gamemakers. But when Sky whimpers and begins to cry, making the wolf pinning her down snarl in her face…Davy hesitantly begins to step forward. He doesn't want to kill…but he doesn't want her suffering. And if this is a test…failure will mean almost certain death.

His hand is shaking so badly as he picks up the knife, unsure if he can even do this… Sky looks up at him with pleading eyes, causing Davy to hesitate even further as in the entire time in the Capitol, he didn't once see her looking so scared. "I'm sorry," Davy whispers as he crouches down and shuts his eyes as he plunges the knife into her chest.

Davy can feel the room vibrate along with the very aggressive vibration from his wrist, indicating a sound that still petrifies him, even if he can't hear it. He stumbles back, opening his eyes and staring in horror at the sight in front of him as the wolves leave Sky's body be, his knife protruding from her chest and face frozen in fear. He begins to breath rapidly as the room around him spins, and he has to shut his eyes. But that doesn't do much to stop the images of her body from replaying over and over in his mind.

 _Oh God…he just killed someone._

It was a mercy kill…he was doing what the Gamemakers want from him…right?

Davy opens his eyes and all he can do is stare numbly at his bloody hands as he tries to come to terms with what he just did. He killed someone… Someone who attacked him first and it was a mercy kill…but still, he made the final blow. Sky is _dead_ because of him.

A sob escapes him and before long, he is curled up as tears pour down his cheeks as he stares over at Sky's body, terrified that he killed her. "I'm so-sorry," he whispers to her, knowing it's too late for her to hear him, but needing to apologize. "I just- I don't want to die."

And the worst feeling creeping up inside of him is the knowledge that he has to do this again if he's going to win… And he doesn't know if he can.

His wolf comes up to him and curls next to him, but Davy recoils in fear now that he knows just what they are capable of doing. And he didn't even do what he promised and go find food… Will they be happy enough with the kill? But can his stomach even go longer without food?

Yet Davy can't bring himself to move…even if he wants to get away from the sight and smell of the blood filling the room. The adrenaline is fading away, leaving him tired and starved as a terrible thought fills his head that Leandro might be afraid of him for killing…but no…surely he understands with his mom as a victor that Davy is just doing what he needs to do to survive…

Davy barely picks his head up as a silver canister floats down in front of him, even though there is a '5' clearly on it. He's afraid to look inside and see what it is, afraid that his mentor is going to shun him… But eventually when the wolf next to him nudges his arm, Davy jumps and reaches for the gift, terrified of doing anything that would disappoint the Gamemakers. His hands shake as he opens it, this time from feeling weak after the rush of the fight and lack of food, but when he catches the smell coming out of it, he starts crying right away and thanking the Gamemakers for not taking away his sense of smell.

Davy carefully takes out the mug of hot chocolate – even topped with whipped cream just like that last night in the Capitol – and takes a hesitant sip of it, immediately overwhelmed by the rich chocolate taste. "Thank you, Mrs. Calder," Davy whispers, knowing his mentor will be listening. He sets the hot chocolate aside before reaching back in and taking out a loaf of bread with a note.

" _The first one is always the hardest… It won't get easier from here on, but just keep being brave. You're doing what has to be done to survive and we're both rooting for you. – Letha"_

Davy brushes away fresh tears falling down his cheeks at the support from his mentor and the Capitol. He has food…he doesn't have to go back out and try to search for food, at least not yet. And… They're now at the halfway point. He's made it this far…what's to stop him from going farther?

"I'm trying my best," Davy tells Letha and Leandro. He's trying so hard to stay brave, but it's so hard in this arena to do that. But maybe it's okay to not be brave for a little bit. Just as long as he is when it matters most.

* * *

 _Amelia Fensa, 18, District Three_

The sudden sound of the cannon wakes Amelia up, sending a chill down her spine. She searches the room for Fox, momentarily terrified that someone is attacking them in their sleep, and relaxes when she sees him sitting upright, staring back at her. Amelia rubs her eyes and holds back a yawn as she sits up, unable to fully rest at all the past three days, too tense every time she closed her eyes to let herself relax. Her body is exhausted from barely eating anything except a few bits of plants, but her mind is so alert with the constant fear of being in the arena. Fear and the constant reminder that she could so easily end up just like Aero… But already she has made it farther than him, giving her a small bit of hope that maybe she can actually do this. "That brings us to eleven."

"It's only the third night," Fox says quietly and Amelia nods her head. "Feels like it's going too fast."

"It is a Quell," Amelia says through a yawn before stretching her arms above her head. "Look at how short the last one was."

"I really hope this one isn't that short…" Fox says quietly and Amelia agrees with that, terrified at the thought of these Games being only five days and having only two more days left of possibly being alive. "Who do you think it was?" Fox continues, fear trickling into his voice as with every time there has been a cannon, and Amelia can't blame him. Every time she hears one, she is brought back to a year ago and has to keep telling herself that she is safe and can't change the past.

"Hopefully a career," Amelia answers bitterly, feeling resentment rising in her from it being a career – albeit an outer District career – that caused her brother's death. "They can afford to lose some of their own at this point. Balance out the playing field. But if they really wanted that, they would have made them all blind."

Fox shrugs at this, "I guess we'll find out tomorrow night, if…" He trails off, leaving the sentence unfinished: if they're still alive this time tomorrow.

And that's a big if… One Amelia isn't comfortable with. Tomorrow will bring the next Trial by Combat and with their lack of action, there's no telling what the Gamemakers will do. How much longer can they rely on her recent family history in the Games or Fox's young family to keep them popular in the eyes of the Capitol? Probably not much longer…not with them at the halfway point and not having made any kills yet.

"We need to get moving," Amelia says as she starts gathering their feebly amount of supplies together. She doesn't understand why someone sent her a pirate hat and Fox a stuffed turkey hat instead of actual food or a weapon...something they could actually use to survive.

"Wh-why?" Fox asks quickly in confusion. "We're safe in here, so why move?"

Amelia pauses to look up at him, annoyed for a brief moment at his hesitation to do anything, before scolding herself for thinking this way. She also doesn't want to kill if she can avoid it, but there's the difference. She knows she'll try if her hand is forced but Fox…she really doesn't know. And that worries her as she doesn't want to see him get hurt, but also knows he will have to die eventually if she is to win. A thought that Amelia hates dwelling on, especially as he's told her more about his family. How can she possibly wish the pain she's been suffering through for the past year on someone else? Especially someone raising a young boy and with another child on the way? She can't…so as terrible as it is to think about, she hopes when the time comes, she isn't the one responsible for it…which is likely with possibly all of the careers still alive at the halfway point.

"There was just a death," Amelia answers as she turns back to their supplies, ashamed to meet Fox's eyes after just thinking about his possible death. But isn't it better to think that way about him than as a friend who she might feel like she has to protect in a fight? She has to keep reminding herself that there's no outcome where they will both live to make it easier for her to do what is necessary. "Audience should be satisfied by a death and preoccupied for a bit. And they don't want to kill too many tributes before they have their next Trial by Combat."

"About that…" Fox says slowly and Amelia knows from his tone that she does not want to have this conversation right now. "Amelia-"

"It's not going to happen, Fox," Amelia says, more so to reassure herself. She just can't bare thinking about being forced to finally fight someone else, let alone her ally. Yet it's just a matter of time until it happens. Which is why she wants to keep them happy with them doing things. "It's just not. Why have two tributes who don't know how to fight in it when they have six careers that will fight? Nope, it won't happen."

"But if it does…" Fox continues and Amelia finally meets his gaze, hating to see the resignation in his eyes. "I don't think I can fight you, I really don't…"

"But it won't happen," Amelia repeats, a little in denial that it is a possibility. Instead, she focuses on his refusal to fight. "And you'll have to get over that if you're going to get home to Paloma and Maddox and your new baby. They need you."

Fox looks like he wants to keep protesting this and Amelia silently pleads with him not to, knowing he will be dooming himself if he really makes the Gamemakers believe that he is not going to fight at all. And part of her just wants to keep hoping that he will get past that idea of not fighting and realize he has to. It would make his death easier if he at least went down fighting…

 _Which is what happened with Aero, so why can't she move on from his death?_

Amelia turns her gaze away from Fox as she feels her eyes prickling like they want to shed tears, but her body can't form any from being dehydrated. Good, she can't be pitiful and keep crying in the arena over her brother who she might end up like if she doesn't get moving… No, she has to focus on getting some food right now, not on Aero. He would not want her losing her chance at winning because she was too caught up thinking about him… "Come on," Amelia says, her voice shaking as she stands up and has to reach out for the wall as the world spins around her. "We need to get some real food."

Fox sighs at this but nods his head, listening to what she said. "You're right," he says, even if his face is full of fear at the thought of leaving their safe room. "But…we don't have things to fight with."

Amelia holds up her flashlight and shrugs, "This will have to do. Let's go." She leads the way out of their room, looking around and trying to decide which way to go when they both look the same. "Left or right?"

"Right," Fox answers her and so she heads in the direction he picked, her heart beginning to race from the unknown things or tributes that could be waiting for them.

"Just be ready to run back if we see any of the careers," Amelia says cautiously to him, even though the hallway seems deserted. "Except the blind ones…but I doubt they are alone."

"Maybe they will be and we'll get lucky," Fox responds, but he doesn't seem too optimistic about that situation happening.

"We'll see," Amelia answers quietly, focusing on the hallway as they keep walking. "How do we even decide where to go?" She asks after they pass their second door without either of them making any move to enter either one.

"I don't know…" Fox says before she hears his footsteps slow. "Well…we could have a sign like that."

Amelia slows as she sees the open door up ahead, not trusting it one bit. She grips her flashlight tighter in her hands, ready once more to use it as a makeshift weapon. She glances back at Fox, finding him hovering just behind her and only feels pressure from him putting his hand on her shoulder. "It doesn't feel right letting you go in first."

"Oh don't start being all chivalrous now," Amelia shakes her head as she turns back around to face the open door. "I can fight just fine on my own."

Fox chuckles at this, "Oh I know. I can still feel the pain from that knee."

Amelia shushes him, even if she smiles a tiny bit, as they get closer to the open door. Her smile quickly disappears as adrenaline starts pumping through her, getting her tense and ready for a possible fight. She knows they need to go into that open room, it's what the audience will be expecting of them. "Alright, on three," Amelia tells him as she stops just out of view of the door. "One…two…"

"Three!"

Amelia jumps into the open doorway, flashlight raised high and ready to strike any tribute approaching them, but there's no one there. Nothing except for large piles of food.

"Seems like the Gamemakers wanted us to find this," Fox says, voice sounding a bit awed as he looks around at all of the food in front of them.

Amelia lowers her flashlight in her hand as her stomach starts to rumble from just the sight of food, but she still hesitates. "This seems too good to be true… Don't eat anything without me trying it first."

* * *

 _Major Emerson-Ness, 18, District One_

Major needs to do something soon or else he's going to snap. He didn't expect this building frustration in him and he hates feeling like a fucking failure. Major Emerson-Ness does _not_ fail at things. But he just can't damn think when around everyone on edge and ready to fight. He refuses to sleep and give up the one vital sense he still has. Not when he doesn't trust a single one of them. But there's just no easy way to get alone time in this alliance without raising suspicions. He can't just go off for a walk without Odyssey jumping to be his damn buddy like they're back in kindergarten.

Which sucks ass because he just can't concentrate on coming up with a plan as he lays on the ground, staring up at the sky and pretending like he's trying to nap. But as he stares up and sees something approaching, he starts to grin for a moment before it turns into a scowl when a silver canister floats down to the golden child of their alliance, not Major.

Major sits up as Odyssey pops open the lid and Major immediately recoils as a horrendous smell smacks him in the face. "What the fuck is that?"

Bell covers her nose too and Major sees some of the others doing the same, all except for Odyssey who can't smell a damn thing. He pulls out a greenish brown spiked…thing…from the container and the smell just gets even worse, smelling like a mix of rotting food and shit and…ugh.

Odyssey says something about the item that Major can't hear – and for once not to his annoyance because Major wants nothing to do with that nasty smelling thing. God, now he really can't fucking concentrate with that smell hanging over their camp. But…the smell gives him an idea. One place he can go where no one would want to disturb him.

"I'm going to the bathroom," Major says with a huff as he stands up, getting a few looks from the others that are awake. "I'll be a while so please don't disturb me."

Odyssey says something that Major can't hear before giving him a thumbs up. Odyssey then leans over to pick up Bell's hat and then tosses the poop hat at him as he laughs hysterically. The hat bounces off of his head as Major just stares blankly at Odyssey, trying to control himself and keep from snapping at him right this second. God, Major is so fucking glad he can't hear his lame jokes. "Ha, ha, so very funny," Major says in a monotone before turning around to leave, instantly scowling at dealing with his bullshit.

Major stomps off from their camp, intentionally dragging his feet to kick some sand at Anastacia as he walks past her. "Oops," Major says innocently as she tries to reach out and trip him, but he just jumps over her outstretched arm and continues on his way, glancing back to see her brushing off sand and looking pissed off. Seeing her so mad almost calms him down, but then he catches sight of Odyssey and Bell and his scowl just deepens.

"Stupid District Two tributes," Major grumbles to himself as he stomps up the stairs to the first level of the coliseum, heading towards the so called 'Shit Pit'. He holds his breath when he reaches the top of the stairs and glances back at his alliance, finding no one looking in his direction. Hell, they probably can't even see him up here in the darkness and with him not using a flashlight…they won't be able to see him pacing this level and not actually using the bathroom.

Major takes off away from their bathroom area and once a good distance away, finally lets out the breath he was holding and breaths in thankfully fresh smelling air. He thought the locker rooms in One were bad but this is a whole other level of nasty.

Major comes to a stop and leans against the cool stone wall, finally getting a moment to just be alone and try to think. Yet his brain feels so slow and is struggling to even come up with any ideas, making him grow concerned. "Come on, Major, think," he mutters to himself, shaking his head and lightly slapping his cheek to wake himself up. "You can do this."

He doesn't have _that_ much time up here to think before they get concerned that he either shit himself to death or ran off. Which means…time for a plan to take down the career pack…

But where does he even start?

Major glances back down at the camp, assessing each threat. And…he knows his biggest threat. They have been his threat from the start when he first noticed how close they were. And his attempt to get them separated at the party doesn't even seemed to have worked…

Bell and Odyssey have to go down first. And while Major is more than confident in his abilities to perform, he'd rather not fight them together. So he'll have to get one of them out first before taking down the other. Then…then he'll take on Four. Demarcus will be easy, just a little stab in the back will do with the trust he has in Major. Delta, he'll just let her anger get in the way. And then Anastacia…she definitely has to be last. Now he just needs an actual plan.

Major fights back a large yawn and he rubs his eyes, desperately trying to stay awake and fighting his brain and body screaming at him to sleep. But he can't. Not yet. Not until he has his plan.

So why the fuck is he struggling so hard to think of a plan right now? He's being a disappointment to his parents right now and everything they taught him…

Instead of trying to thing of new ideas, Major thinks back… _Okay what has he done before to sabotage people?_

Exposing Bell's crush and the lack of Odyssey's crush didn't work. He can't exactly manipulate one of them into having feelings towards him and keep them wrapped around his finger like he did with Shard. Well, maybe he could with Demarcus but that boy is the least of his concerns right now. So no manipulating romantic feelings. He drove Anastacia down a path of destruction from Pad's death, driven by rage…

So maybe he needs to do the same thing here.

Surely Bell or Odyssey would be destroyed by losing the other. But Major can't exactly waltz back into camp and kill one of them, even if he would like to. And he can't kill Odyssey when they are out as a pair in the arena because stupid Anastacia will never believe him. No…he needs someone else to do the dirty work for him.

Major can feel his brain struggling to put all the pieces together of the plan, yet doesn't understand why Pad is standing out in his brain. He hasn't thought about that kid this much in a long time, not since his parents taught him to get past the small bit of guilt he had from sabotaging their ranking before their suicide. So why does he keep thinking about them?!

 _Oh._

Major slowly begins to grin, the plan finally piecing itself together. He needs someone else to kill one of the Two tributes to set the other on a plan of self-destruction. And what did he do when he wanted to get rid of Pad?

He went to someone higher up and had them remove the problem.

Major clears his throat as he looks around him, trying to see if he can spot any of the many cameras that they have in the arena, but they're all hidden. He will just have to assume that they are watching him carefully. "Excuse me, Head Gamemaker Lukianas, sir," Major says quietly, glancing back down at the pack to make sure he is speaking quietly and won't be overheard. But none of them are glancing in his direction, so he must be speaking softly enough. Major has to hold in a laugh at the plan coming together, knowing it will tip off the others that he is up to something. "I have some suggestions on how to…spice things up in the career alliance."

* * *

 _Emilio Signe, District One Mentor_

"Emilio, I swear if your tribute gets Lukianas to do what he asked-"

Emilio holds up his hand, trying to get Darach to stop threatening him. "Darach, stop, you and I both know we have no control over what he does now. And you're not really scary after I've seen you holding a tiny baby."

"Besides," Thetis steps in for Emilio's defense, even if it's not needed really, "You're the ones with a victor dating the Head Gamemaker. Surely your District is getting special favoritism."

"Highly unlikely, Thetis," Kat says quickly, arms crossed as she continues to stare at the screens, not deeming them worthy of her full attention. "Don't fish for excuses for why your tributes are disasters this year."

"Says the woman whose pair is caught in a love triangle," Okeanas chuckles at the mentors from Two, making Darach and Glacia cringe a little. Emilio raises an eyebrow at the two of them, wondering if they knew this was going on before Kat.

"Can we all stop bickering about this?" Muir speaks up, sounding exhausted from all of this, and Emilio can't blame her. Not when she stepped in last minute to mentor Demarcus. "Our bickering isn't going to do anything to stop them. If the Head Gamemaker decides to listen to Major and put two of them in the next Trial by Combat…well, there's nothing we can do except watch."

They all look over at her, and Emilio is the first to sigh and nod his head in agreement. "Just stop blaming me for what Major is doing. I didn't tell him to sabotage the others, just like Darach and Glacia didn't tell Bell to have a crush on Odyssey, or Okeanas didn't tell Delta to go on a rage – well, maybe she did."

"Oh listen to you all bickering like a bunch of old married people. You would think more of you are married than just Darach and Glacia," Stefan interrupts as he steps over to them, deep scowl on his face. "Lucky you, still having all of your tributes still alive. You know what? I hope they put two of your tributes in the Trial by Combat. It's about time for you to feel the loss that the rest of us have been experiencing."

"Stefan," Letha calls over cautiously to him, her eyes still red from crying out of fear for her tribute earlier tonight, and it's no wonder given his relationship with her youngest son. Galen sits by her side, supporting her through everything, just like he always does. "Please don't start anything."

"They started it," Stefan pouts and it's clear he's going to start stuff. "How can you just sit here listening to them complaining when they still have all of their tributes left at the halfway point? Maybe it's different when you still have a tribute left, but Seven has no one anymore. What about Eleven? They also have no tributes. And are you really complaining when there's a fourteen year old kid mentoring here for the very first time? _Fourteen!_ "

"Don't you fucking dare drag Clark into this," Astrid stands up and puts herself in front of Clark protectively, making the young victor poke his head around the side of her, briefly looking up to give her a look that's a mix of annoyance and gratefulness. But when he turns his attention to the other victors, he just looks ready to watch the drama play out. Beside the youngest, Dampero looks like he's barely following along the drama, just petting Clark's dog to calm himself as he keeps an eye on Elias now in a room with lion mutts that have accepted him like the wolves did with Davy. His fellow mentor naps in a nearby chair, having talked with Astrid and Clark frequently but not having a tribute to watch over.

Most of the other mentors seem content to stay out of the drama, at least those that aren't asleep. Glen has woken up from Stefan getting mad next to him, rubbing his eyes and trying to find his place in his book. Matla is tucked away in a corner of the room, taking over an entire table with her papers, working on some new project. Pinova is fast asleep in a different corner, Kanzi watching over her protectively so the young girl can finally get some rest. Hessian is watching from the distance, still awake despite Astrid's attempts to get him to sleep. And then Mazie and Pigmy watch from the bar where they were playing a card game to pass the time.

Meanwhile, Isidore and Johan are sharing hesitant looks, and with their two tributes in seemingly a good place with Amelia testing out the food before passing it to Fox, Johan slowly stands up and heads over in their direction. "How many times are you going to bicker among yourself? You should all know by now how much of this is out of our hands."

The career victors share looks, before Darach finally shrugs and responds to Johan, "Yeah, but we all want to get the next Quell victor. Two has a lot of pressure after the last one," He puts his arm around his wife's shoulder and Glacia tries to force a smile, but fails.

Emilio nods his head, agreeing with what Darach said, except…he feels like their pair is on a fast track towards self-destruction and ruining their chances of having a victor. "Did we mess up with picking them?" Emilio asks Thetis quietly, finally expressing the doubt that has been plaguing him since the bloodbath when Major fired that arrow so close to Anastacia and only got worse when she started scheming against him. And now this…

"Of course not, they know better than to sabotage One's chance of victory by some past feud," Thetis responds, sounding confident, but Emilio can see the doubt in her eyes from knowing her well. "One of our tributes is going to win."

"If not," Fonio starts, still trying to be part of their conversation for some reason unknown to Emilio. "Don't worry, Thetis, I can comfort you just like old times," Fonio winks at Thetis, which makes Emilio both sick to his stomach and curious, especially when Thetis flips him off. Kat's eyes dart between Thetis and Fonio, narrowing slightly before turning back to the screens, further fueling Emilio's curiosity. Fonio turns his attention to Okeanas, looking way too flirty for someone who just lost their tribute, but clearly this is how Fonio copes, "I know you don't need any comforting, but the offer still stands for you as well."

Emilio ignores Fonio as Thetis and Okeanas start berating him for being an obnoxious flirt, instead turning his focus back to more important matters. Dawn is coming soon in the arena, meaning they only have a few hours left to wait before finding out what Seraphim is going to do for the Trial by Combat. Part of Emilio considers calling Jory and seeing if he could talk to Zephyr, but knows that he can't ask him to do that.

They will just have to wait and hope the Head Gamemaker is fair.

* * *

 **Eulogies:**

 _Sky Odum [9], Ranked 12th, Killed by Davy [5]:_

 _Sky has always been a tribute I have stuck by, even when everyone else didn't. Her angst and all the loss she went through...I just always had plans for her in the arena to start to realize she really wasn't being fair to Marek. She's a young teen, can't expect them to know how to properly handle that kind of loss. She's always been fun to write and I've enjoyed having her in this story, but I knew she would eventually make a rash decision that would be her downfall. But at least she had that reconciliation with herself before she died. David, thank you so much for sending this angsty girl! RIP Sky._

 **And with that...we are officially at the halfway point of the tributes! I know I keep saying it, but yeah, buckle up because updates are gonna keep happening quickly from this point on XD Next chapter we're going to get our next Trial by Combat so time for predictions: who will it be? Will Seraphim be fair for that when he wasn't fair and intervened in the fight with Sky and Davy?**

 **You'll most likely get the answer soon, I'm hyped for the next chapter XD And so I will see you all soon but if not before the month ends, I hope you all have a good end of the year and I'll see you in 2020!**


	38. Day Four: To The End

**Chapter 34:**

 _Day Four_

 _Bellona Silvanus, 18, District Two_

Bell is almost certain that Major knows she's up to something, just as certain as she is that Major is also planning something himself. And that fact is making her nervous. Bell doesn't know what he's up to, except that he's clearly trying to keep her and Odyssey separate… Why else would he insist on going out hunting for a few hours in the early morning with Odyssey and suggesting Bell and Demarcus stay behind to guard the camp? Or keep jumping into their conversations when they were around and asking Odyssey what's going on? Maybe there isn't an ulterior motive and he's just trying to stay part of the group… But Bell knows people. She's seen his smug looks when he thinks none of them are watching him. He's scheming…and Bell is starting to put together what he might be scheming about.

After all, the sun is getting higher in the sky with each passing minute, bringing them closer and closer to noon and the next Trial by Combat. Bell is suspicious about what the Gamemakers might do, having had all morning to think about the potential combinations. And she knows what she would want to see if she was watching these Games back home with six careers left.

But she doesn't really want that when she's in the middle of it.

Bell paces the camp, knowing that it's getting more and more critical that they get out of this alliance while they both can alive.

"Why are you pacing?" Demarcus asks her, bringing her to a stop as she looks over at her partner in their system. He doesn't try to look in her direction, instead focusing on swirling his finger in the sand in front of him.

Bell contemplates what she wants to tell him, aware of Delta not too far away swinging her spear around in practice and Anastacia stretching nearby. They might look busy but she knows better. Everyone is on high alert and will be listening in. "Just a bit on edge with the Trial by Combat approaching."

Demarcus pauses what he's doing to stare in her general direction before slowly nodding his head. "I understand that…" He answers quietly before letting out a sigh, his shoulders hunching over. "But I'm sure you'll be fine. You can still see."

"You'll be fine too," Bell tells him, but from the grimace that forms on his face, she knows he doesn't believe that. And there's an unspoken part to that. He'll be fine if he's not up against another career, unless that career is Anastacia. Otherwise, the other tribute will have a huge advantage over him. If she is put against him…well, she'll fight like she's been trained to do, even if she has gotten to know him and knows he's a good guy.

But she doesn't want to dwell on this for long. "What are you up to?" Bell asks, diverting the topic as she walks over to him. She sits down next to him and looks over curiously at what he was drawing in the sand, considering he can't see anything.

"Drawing," Demarcus answers quietly before letting out a rare laugh. "At least, I think I am. Not quite easy to do when you can't see. But it…it's calming right now. I like it."

Bell can't really tell what he was trying to make as it just looks like a bunch of squiggles. But it gives her something to focus on other than the upcoming Trial by Combat. "Do you draw at home?"

"No," Demarcus tells her, shaking his head. "No time with training and with how many siblings I have… But I think I would like to try painting when this is done, if…" He trails off at this if, both knowing what are the chances that he wins and that it means her dead. And she's going to do everything to stop that from happening. "What about you? If you win, what will you do?"

Bell cringes a little at the thought of winning, knowing that if she does…she'll have lost Odyssey. And her heart hasn't started preparing for that possibility yet. "School. Definitely want to attend the new university."

Demarcus nods his head, turning to be facing her more. "That sounds nice. What would you want-"

Bell cuts him off as she stares across the pit, "They're back." She lets out a sigh of relief as she watches as Odyssey and Major head down the stairs, filling her with relief that her District partner is back before tension builds at the smug look on Major's face. She stands up and starts heading towards them, leaving Demarcus behind and looking a little dejected, but she has bigger concerns as she heads over, a hand in her pocket on the knife tucked in it in case Major tries to start anything. "Find anything?"

Odyssey nods his head as he stops in front of her and watches as Major heads to their pile of supplies, picking up a fresh bottle of water and drinking a majority of it as he stares over at Anastacia. "A few empty rooms. Again they did that thing where they kept some of the doors locked."

"Not wanting you to find tributes?" Bell asks, worry growing in her with each passing second. That's never a good sign if the Gamemakers are keeping the careers from finding tributes…

Odyssey nods his head as he swings his bag off his back and swaps it with his bow, before he takes out his own bottle of water. "Three empty rooms, all with various signs that tributes were there at some point. Let me tell you, I am glad I couldn't smell in the forge room because that did not look good."

"Yeah I don't need that image," Bell tells him, getting a chuckle from him as he sips water. "What about the rest?"

"Some sort of prison, didn't look like anyone was there for long," Odyssey continues and Bell turns her attention to the others, not wanting to keep her attention from them for long. "Then a sort of office… Major nearly got himself killed in a trap there but I stopped him."

"You should have let him," Bell says under her breath, turning her gaze over to the boy from One as he begins stretching.

"Honestly?" Odyssey starts, making Bell look over at him with an eyebrow raised. He lets out a sigh as he shakes his head, "Probably, with the numbers getting this low. I wasn't thinking, I just stopped him from stepping into it."

"You're too nice," Bell tells him, patting him on the shoulder. "I hope it doesn't bite you in the ass."

"So do I," Odyssey says quietly, making Bell concerned right away from the lack of joke from him. He meets her gaze and she tries to give him an encouraging smile. "There's too many of us left… It worries me."

"Me too," Bell answers him and they both look out at their allies. "I think all of us are concerned with the Trial by Combat…"

"We're going to be fine," Odyssey reassures her and Bell glances back at him, hearing the wavering in his voice. He's definitely reassuring himself, which oddly brings comfort to Bell knowing that he's also worried. "Either one of us could take on the others. I trust Kat's training and come on, just look at the history of our District and the Games compared to the others."

"Four got second place last year, above Two," Bell reminds him, watching him wave his hand at this.

"Minor details," Odyssey answers her. "They're not here now, we are."

"Because I got her to volunteer early," Bell says under her breath and quickly smiles to distract Odyssey when he gives a curious look. "Anyways, I know we should be fine… It's just the aftermath that worries me."

"Yeah I understand that-"

Fanfare brings them all to a stop and Bell steps closer to Odyssey, grabbing onto his arm as her nerves reach a peak, giving her an idea for what to do next. She drops her voice so the others can't hear her, "We use this as a distraction and we get the fuck out of here. Okay?"

Odyssey barely nods his head at her, just enough to show he agrees but not enough to let the others on to their plan. But all of them are focused on the impending announcement for the next Trial by Combat.

"Good afternoon, tributes!" Kora greets them cheerfully and Bell takes a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She knows that she can win whatever fight they might put her in. She doesn't need to worry… "It is time for our next Trial by Combat! So, who will be participating in it?"

"Whatever happens, we'll get through it together," Odyssey says to her softly as they wait in the dramatic pause from Kora to hear who the two tributes will be. He glances down and Bell follows his gaze, having not realize she grabbed onto his hand out of a small bit of fear in her.

"The next two participants for today's Trial by Combat are… Oh this is a matchup for the ages!" Kora pauses once more to build up the drama and Bell rolls her eyes, even as her heart starts racing at that. "First up is…Bellona Silvanus."

Bell lets out a sigh as she steps back from Odyssey, part of her having expected this as a possibility. "You got this, Bell," Odyssey tells her right away, giving her a big grin and a thumbs up. "And then your plan."

Bell nods her head, trying to get herself psyched up for the fight ahead of her instead of focusing on how the two of them can get away from the careers.

"And our second participant is…" Kora continues, pausing for an even bigger time to build up the drama. Bell looks around at their allies, studying each one and trying to decide who she would most want to fight. "Odyssey Gunderson!"

"Oh _fuck_."

Bell immediately snaps her gaze back to Odyssey as she gets frozen in place by the Gamemakers, only able to watch in complete terror as the two of them get brought down into the levels below the arena. "No…" Bell whispers as her eyes begin to water, unable to even try to reach out to Odyssey. "No, no, no."

"It will be fine, Bell," Odyssey tells her in vain as they stop moving and two teams swoop in, pulling them away from each other to separate rooms to get put in their armor. Odyssey struggles against them as he keeps yelling towards her. "We'll figure this out!"

Bell can only shake her head in resignation as the door is shut and the team wastes no time starting to get her prepped. She knows better…there's nothing for them _to_ figure out. Both of them won't be allowed to get out of this fight alive.

She doesn't know who she would most want to fight…but she has her answer for who she least wants to fight…

* * *

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

"Hey Seraphim?"

Seraphim cringes a little at Zephyr's tone as his boyfriend approaches him, having anticipated some sort of reaction from him. It's…why he had avoided mentioning this plan to him from the get go. "Yeah?" Seraphim asks meekly, barely glancing over his shoulder and avoiding eye contact with him.

"I'm trying to figure out how to put this politely," Zephyr says as he stops next to Seraphim. He claps his hands together and holds his hands up in front of his mouth, clearly struggling for the right words for a few seconds. "What the _fuck_?"

"They're the most solid pair of the careers. It's the top half and all of the careers are still alive. Something needs to shake them up," Seraphim cringes as he turns away from Zephyr and back towards the screens, watching the pair get prepared for their fight and looking absolutely crushed already at the prospect of the fight. Bell keeps wiping away at tears flowing freely down her face while Odyssey has his face in his hands as he shakes his head, muttering an apology to Bell over and over.

"Shake them up?" Zephyr asks in disbelief and Seraphim sneaks a quick glance over at him before turning back to the screens and pretending he doesn't see his anger. "Try absolutely destroying them and possibly their drive to win."

All Seraphim can do is give a nervous laugh at this as he turns his attention to the careers sitting out in the stands. Most of them just look relieved that it wasn't them put in the fight, while Major looks all smug, thinking he influenced this fight. If only Seraphim could break it to the little manipulator that he had this idea way before Major mentioned it. "Well no one can say I have a bias towards District Two because of you."

"You're going to have all of Two hating your guts. In fact, I bet the mentors are about to have a damn riot in the mentor room right now," Zephyr scoffs, his tone making Seraphim hesitate for a moment.

He turns to look at him, knowing they have a little bit more time, frowning up at his boyfriend. "Are you genuinely mad at me? If you are…I'm sorry, but this is my job. I…I have to do what keeps the audience interested. Would you have a problem with this pairing if they were from One or Four instead?"

Zephyr is quiet for a few long seconds and Seraphim raises his eyebrows at him expectantly, prompting him to sigh as he sits down next to the Head Gamemaker. "No…and I would be excited about the fight…"

"There you go," Seraphim says as the two are finishing up being put in their chariot armor, much to their dismay.

"They're good kids, Seraphim," Zephyr continues quietly, causing Seraphim to glance over at him from the corner of his eye. "You're forcing two friends to fight to the death."

"Isn't that what they promised each other they would do in the end?" Seraphim asks him, genuinely wanting to get a better idea of the career mentality. "Is this that much different?"

"Well," Zephyr says before pausing for an extended time, eventually sighing. "I supposed not. It just feels…wrong having it in this fight and not at the end. I doubt this is what they expected."

"It's a Quell," Seraphim shakes his head at this. "They're not supposed to expect what is happening."

Zephyr holds up his hands in mocking defense, making Seraphim lightly shove his shoulder. "I was just giving you a response, no need to get sassy with me."

"Hey Seraphim?" Laelia calls over, stopping Seraphim from giving an even sassier response to Zephyr. "They're ready to go."

Seraphim grows serious at this and he nods as he turns his focus back to the screens. "Get them into the launch tubes. Time for District Two to prove themselves."

"I hate this," Zephyr grumbles as Bell and Odyssey are directed to the new launch tubes, both taking a moment to prepare themselves. Bell does her best to wipe away her tears and keep her head held high, trying to hide her growing fear for the fight, but her red eyes give it away. Odyssey, on the other hand, isn't trying to hide his emotions for this fight as he makes a quiet promise to Misha that he's going to do his best to fight.

"Bring in all the mutts," Seraphim directs to Magnus, knowing they will need all the encouragement possible to make sure the two tributes fight. Magnus is cheery as he does so, leaving Elias and Davy confused as they are left alone by the animals in their rooms. The mutts start circling the fighting pit and Bell and Odyssey are brought back up into the arena for their fight.

The midday sun reflects of the gold armor the pair wears, fit perfectly to them, each holding on to a matching golden spear. Unlike for the chariots, they no longer wear a golden laurel crown but instead a gold helmet, complete with red plume of feathers atop it. No longer is the pair acting in unity in their armor like they were for the chariots, instead preparing for a fight that will tear them apart.

"Damn it, I can see why you did this," Zephyr mutters next to him, shaking his head as they watch. "This is going to be epic. Epic _and_ tragic for District Two."

"See?" Seraphim says, feeling a little thrilled at Zephyr getting on his side with this, before putting all his focus back on the pair from Two.

The gong sounds, signifying the start of the fight, yet the two stay still in contrast to the first Trial by Combat. Instead, they stare across at each other in silence for a minute, neither wanting to move just yet.

"Hold off on the mutts," Seraphim calls to Magnus, wanting to see what the two will do first before using the mutts to motivate them into fighting.

Odyssey is the first one to speak up and break the tense silence. "You know, this isn't what I meant by saying we would get through this together," Odyssey tries to joke, but his voice is strained as he stares across at his friend and District partner. His eyes begin to gleam with tears as he lets out a heavy sigh, "Bell…I'm so sorry…but I have to fight to get back home."

"To Misha, of course," Bell replies, trying to be bitter towards him to make this easier, but clearly failing. She shakes her head at him as she adjusts her grip on her spear, a weapon that Seraphim knows from training that she is quite skilled in compared to Odyssey. Which he clearly knows to as he looks down at the hand holding his own spear, tense but staying still to not provoke her into attacking. "We have to fight," Bell continues, shaking her head and trying to wipe away the tears flowing down her cheeks. "Of fucking course we have to fight each other. Neither of us wants to die but one of us needs to. It's fucked up, making two friends fight to the death."

"I agree, I don't want to fight my friend," Odyssey agrees slowly, carefully choosing his words. "But we have to. I…I really would have stuck by your side until the end, Bell. And I hope you can forgive me for this…"

"I hope you can do the same," Bell answers him before taking a deep breath. "Just like in training?"

"Try not to kick me in the balls again," Odyssey manages to joke and he cracks the smallest smile from her.

"No guarantees," Bell answers him as she braces her feet and Odyssey does the same, both of them hesitating to start the fight. "May the best tribute win."

And with that, one of the most evenly matched fights begins.

Bell makes the first move, running towards Odyssey, who braces himself and tracks her movements before deftly sidestepping her and knocking her spear aside. She keeps trying to make attacks, but he either keeps dodging her or the spear just slides right off of his armor plates. Odyssey is stalling for time as he does his best to just avoid her attacks instead of openly trying to attack her, and it's clear to both Seraphim and Bell whose frustration visibly grows with each passing minute.

"Would you stop being such a damn nice person and just fight me already?" Bell shouts at him, her voice cracking as she uses her arm to harshly brush away more tears before pointing her spear at him. "Come on!"

"Do you really want this, Bell?" Odyssey shouts back at her, his voice wavering as he holds his spear in front of him defensively. "Do you really want me fighting you with everything I got when you know what that is?"

"Of course I don't want that," Bell answers him before making another attempt at swinging her spear towards him and this time he grabs onto the handle of it, pulling her close to him for a moment to look at her with pleading eyes, before she kicks at him, sending him stepping back as she rips her spear away from him. She points her spear at the mutts surrounding them and Odyssey doesn't take his gaze off of her to look, knowing a split second of being unfocused can mean life or death in the Games. "I don't think they would agree. And the more you stall, the more likely they are to interfere. And do you really think that's for the best for Two?"

"She's smart," Zephyr mumbles next to Seraphim, who nods his head in agreement as they watch Odyssey, waiting for him to finally realize that there is no escaping this without fighting her. "Very unhappy, but smart."

Bell shakes her head at him before swinging the blunt end of her spear and making both Seraphim and Zephyr cringe as she strikes Odyssey in the junk. Odyssey leans over right away, clearly in pain, but his eyes show a flash of fire in them, enough to finally spark him towards fighting. "Fuck," he mutters as he takes a step back from her. But then he finally lunges forward, no more half assed dodging Bell's attack and getting on the offensive.

"Why would she push him on like that?" Seraphim asks Zephyr as they closely watch the two begin their fight, both making attempts that are blocked easily by the other knowing their fighting style so well.

"Because," Zephyr says slowly, caught up in the fight between the best District Two has to offer this year. And Seraphim is too. He understands now why people have compared fighting to dancing before because this…this is a _fight_. "She wouldn't be able to live with herself if he didn't fully fight back."

Seraphim nods his head, too absorbed in the fight for any more words. Part of him hadn't been sure if he would get these two to truly fight against each other, not after everything they have gone through and their recent reconciliation. He thought he was right for a bit there, with Odyssey's hesitation. Who knew he just needed a hit to the nuts to go all in to the fight?

Just as one seems to finally get the upperhand in the fight, the other takes it back, making Seraphim really start to have no idea who is actually going to win this fight anymore. He didn't think Bell would have it in her to fight the person she has feelings for, but she's proven him wrong. He had started to think that Odyssey was going to be too good of a person to fight the friend who's heart he broke, but he's proven him wrong too. At this point…it could be either one.

The pattern keeps repeating between the two of them – strike, dodge, returning strike – with neither of them seemingly letting up. More often, Bell seems to get the advantage over Odyssey with them using her weapon of choice, but the lack of touch in her hands will mess up a strike, allowing Odyssey to put her on the defensive.

Seraphim is beginning to think this fight could go on for a very long time, until one of them finally slips up and leaves an opening that the other quickly takes. Next to him, Zephyr takes in a sharp breath as the two tributes become frozen in place, the killing blow made but both of them looking like they are in disbelief that it is done.

"The fight is over. Get a cannon ready."

* * *

 _Odyssey Gunderson, 18, District Two_

As soon as the spear has slipped under the armor, Odyssey knows the fight is over. They both freeze for a tense moment, terrified to move as if keeping still will prevent this from really happening. It will prevent the wound from being there. Prevent one of them from dying… But it won't. Odyssey's eyes begin watering immediately, not wanting to accept that this is it. This can't be the end. It just can't be over.

He grabs onto Bell's shoulders as they both slowly glance down between them, at the spear fatally lodged, before she meets his gaze and lets out a sob as tears begin falling down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry."

Odyssey holds on to Bell as her knees give out and he lowers her to the ground, trying to hold it together as she lets out a gasp of air. But he can't keep back his tears, not when his friend is bleeding on the ground in front of him, and it's all his fault. He did what he had to do…but God he wishes there had been any other way out of this than with her death. He knew that this was going to happen eventually for him to win, but nothing could have ever prepared him for the scenario where he was the one responsible for her death… "Bell, please, I'm so sorry. You're going to be okay, listen to me. I got you."

Bell scoffs at him as tears well up in her eyes as Odyssey tries to put pressure on the wound. "You're going to be in denial until the end, aren't you?"

"That's me," Odyssey says through tears, trying to smile at her but it comes out as a grimace. "Denial boy."

Bell shakes her head at him as she takes a shaky breath, "Please don't ever change. That's what made me like you so much."

"I won't, I promise. But you're not going anywhere," Odyssey tries to tell her, forcing himself to be in denial that this is happening.

"Look, I don't know how much time I have because I can't feel the wound," Bell starts and Odyssey moves his blood stained hand for a moment to look at the wound before quickly putting pressure back on it when it starts pouring blood right away. "Fuck, from your face it's bad."

"It's not," Odyssey lies to her as a sob slips out, but he can tell she sees right through him. " _Fuck!_ " Odyssey yells as frustration builds up in him at being forced to fight her in the first place and now…now having to watch her die right in front of him and knowing it's all his fault…

"Odyssey, listen," Bell says urgently, reaching out for his hand and clutching it tightly to the point of crushing his feelings. Odyssey nods his head, unsure if he can really speak right now as his lips tremble from trying to hold back sobs. "Don't – don't trust him."

"Wh-who?"

"Major," Bell answers before starting to cough, making Odyssey start putting more pressure on her wound desperately to keep her alive. But at this, he stares down at her in confusion, his sorrow temporarily held back. "He-" Bell coughs some more and Odyssey starts searching around for something he can use to stop the bleeding.

When he sees their allies just standing there in the stands watching them and making no effort to step in, he screams at them, "Help me, damn it!" But they all stay put, and of course they do. Why would any of them intervene when Bell's death gets them one step closer to victory? All they care about is themselves, not Odyssey slowly breaking inside as he watches his friend die in front of him from his attack.

"Odyssey, focus here!" Bell musters up as much volume as she can, even smacking him on the cheek with a bloody hand to get him to focus back on her and not their allies. He has to blink a few times to bring his attention back on her, anger blinding him for a moment. "Major he – he was the one that made me see you and Misha."

"He – what?" Odyssey asks, complete confusion temporarily stopping his tears. He turns back to look over at Major, confused as to what would make him do such a thing. "I don't understand why he would do that."

"Because he's a fucking snake," Bell says with a laugh that quickly turns into a cough, only making Odyssey grow even more concerned that she doesn't have much time left. "Just ask Anastacia."

"Or I'll ask you," Odyssey responds to her, trying to wipe away some of the tears falling down her cheeks. "You're not going anywhere."

Bell tries to smile at him as she blinks back tears, "Odyssey…" She lets out a heavy sigh as she glances up at the sky for a moment before turning back to him. "We both know that's not true… And I…I'm scared."

"Me too," Odyssey whispers to her before taking a deep breath, trying to keep a brave face for her. Who cares if he is scared right now? It means nothing compared to what she is feeling as she is _dying_. "I'm not going anywhere."

Bell nods her head, blinking back tears as she grabs onto his hand again, pulling it closer to her. "I-I don't blame you."

"You should," Odyssey tells her, a pit of guilt already forming in his stomach as he watches her face continue to pale from the blood loss. "It's my fault."

Bell gives him a sad smile as she puts her free hand over the other, clutching onto him as much as she can in her weakening state. "One of us had to go," Bell whispers, momentarily letting go of his hand to wipe at her tears, her hand shaking so much before falling onto her chest. "I don't…I don't think I would have gone on without you. But you… You need to win."

Odyssey really doesn't think he can put himself back together enough at this point after this, yet he still nods his head in agreement, willing to say anything to her right now to make her last moments count. "I will…" Odyssey whispers to her before letting out a sob at the way that comment barely pulls up the corner of her lips. "For both of us."

"Good," Bell says, barely above a whisper and Odyssey has to lean forward to hear the rest of what she says. "Odyssey Gunderson…victor of the…"

 _Boom._

Odyssey freezes at the sound of the cannon and shuts his eyes, trying to pretend that it's not true. She can't be gone… The first sob escapes as he leans down his head, resting against her shoulder and holding onto her, unable to hold it back any longer. "Bell, no…"

He pulls her closer to him, cradling her as he rocks as he cries, knowing it's all his fault. It doesn't matter if she didn't blame him… He did this to her. His _friend_ … He had promised her that they would fight together until the end…

Why did that end have to be so soon?

"I-I'm s-sorry," Odyssey cries out, but nothing is going to change what he did…

What a terrible friend he is…Bell deserved someone better than him in this arena with her. Someone who wouldn't have broken her heart. Someone who wouldn't have _killed_ her… Maybe he doesn't deserve to be the one that survived that fight… He doesn't know why it should have been him over her. She should have beat him with her being so much better at using spears than he is… But the thought of her being unable to fully fight him because of her feelings just makes it so much worse.

"Fuck!" Odyssey slams his fist on the ground next to him. Why him? Why did they have to put him in the Trial by Combat? And why _her_?! He would have fought any of the other careers with no problem…but his District partner, his _friend_? Why do the other careers get to go unharmed while he has to suffer from this guilt?

Odyssey slowly picks up his head, white hot rage and guilt clashing in him as his brain tries to wrap around the fact that Bell is dead and he's her killer. He looks over at the other careers, all of them still staring back at him and his hands begin to shake in anger. It should have been any of them in this fight. Let them destroy each other like they've been wanting to do. But not him and Bell…

"They're not winning after this, Bell," Odyssey says quietly, his voice wavering in anger as he stares at his allies. "No fucking way are they winning after forcing me to kill you."

If they think that District Two is out because of this…they have no idea what they are about to face.

Odyssey takes one last look at Bell, seeing the blood on her face and the hint of a smile etched on her lips. Her last breath was telling him he would be victor…how can he do anything other than that now? "Let's go get them," Odyssey whispers to her before leaning down to kiss her forehead, lingering as tears fall down his cheeks and onto her, as he begs her one last time to forgive him. "I really hope you forgive me. I promise you, Bell, I never wanted this…"

Odyssey takes a deep breath before sitting up and taking one shaky step at a time, comes back to his feet. He picks up his bloodied spear and stares at it for a moment, hating the weapon with everything in him, but keeping it as a bitter reminded that this is his fault and now…now he has to live with the consequences.

The tears keep falling down his cheeks as he starts walking back over to the others, but he makes no attempt at wiping them away. Let them see how much he cared about Bell. He _wants_ them to know how much he has been destroyed by this. That way they will know when he wins, it's for both of them.

As he gets closer to them, a mixed bag of emotions on their faces, one of them decides to call out to him. "So sorry for your loss," Major says, not sounding too remorseful to Odyssey, barely able to see through the tears pouring down his cheeks.

He hiccups from a sob as he comes to a stop, staring at Major in the distance and Bell's words echoing in his head. _Don't trust him…_

Odyssey uses his arm to brush away tears in his eyes and stares back at Major, studying the sweet smile he's giving in the face of Bell's death, the sharp focus in his eyes… The others at least show a little bit of pity on their faces for Odyssey having to just fight his District partner, but not Major. No, Major is sitting there looking all smug.

 _Damn it, he's been fucking blind this whole time._

All the problems with Bell, him feeling so distraught and full of regret over hurting her… All can be blamed back on someone who he thought was on his side. What if he had never talked things over with Bell? What if he had to live with even _more_ guilt than already plagues him from being the one to kill her? It's all Major's fault for trying to break them apart and having her find out he didn't return feelings in the worst way. If he did that…what else has he done to them?

"You fucking bastard," Odyssey says in a low voice as he grips the spear in his hand tighter, staring Major down and watching as his smug look starts to drop as Odyssey throws the spear towards him.

* * *

 **Eulogies:**

 _Bellona Silvanus [2], Ranked 11th, Killed by Odyssey [2]:_

 _Oh Bell...This was probably the first death to truly hit me hard in this story (and I know it's going to get worse) and yeah, it was really mean of me to put these two together in the Trial by Combat. I procrastinated this chapter a bit because I wasn't ready to stop having the wonderful dynamic in the career pack and knew this would change everything. It was time for a career death and I knew the first one was going to be one that would hit hard. Bell has been so much fun to write and while her time in the arena may be over, her impact certainly isn't. Thank you so much for sending her Misty! RIP Bell._

 **Yeah...I went there. Welcome to Angstville. I'm your mayor, Lauren, please enjoy your stay here. Tissues are to the left and comfort cookies to your right.**

 **That's about all I have to say so I will see you soon to address this cliffhanger. Sorry for the angst XD (but not really, this angst has been planned for a very long time lol).**


	39. Night Four: Fire and Blood

**Chapter 35:**

 _Day Four_

 _Major Emerson-Ness, 18, District One_

Major's eyes widen as he watches Odyssey's bloodstained face twist in anger as he throws the spear towards him before he has time to try and dodge it. But as he watches the path of it, the spear doesn't even make it halfway to him before weakly hitting the ground, making a laugh slip out of Major before he can help himself. This is the best District Two has to offer? Someone who can't even throw a spear to kill him? "Pathetic, really."

Time for Major to show these bitches how it's done.

Odyssey lets out what Major can only assume is a yell at his words before Major jumps into action, knowing fully well what a dangerous spot he is in surrounded by his former allies. Major shoves his right shoulder into Demarcus, sending him falling back hard towards the ground before quickly using his bow to bash Delta in the face, making her stumble back from him. He quickly grabs an arrow as Odyssey starts running towards him, not even wasting time to pick up his spear, and Major knows he'll only have time for one shot. He draws back the arrow as Odyssey gets closer, tracking the small opening in the armor on his neck and just as he's about to fire, Anastacia kicks at his legs, causing the arrow to go wide.

"Fuck you," Major yells at her as he uses the back of his hand to slap her across the face, watching in satisfaction as she steps back, hand held to her cheek and scowling at him. Major reaches for another arrow as he turns back to the biggest threat, and the smirk quickly fades from his face when Odyssey slams into him. Major gasps for air from the impact and from the heavy weight now on his chest. Major stares up at Odyssey as he grabs onto his toga, forcing him closer to his face as he yells something at him that falls on deaf ears. Major swings his fist at the side of Odyssey's head, watching as the boy from Two barely reacts to the blow, only narrowing his eyes in anger at him.

 _Fuck_.

Odyssey slams Major's head back against the stone and Major groans in pain from the sharp crack, but before he has any time to try and fight back, Odyssey begins pummeling him in the face. Punch after punch strikes Major in the face, all while Odyssey screams something at him, but Major holds back the groans of pain he so badly wants to let slip, knowing it will only be letting Odyssey win. Major tries to punch back, but his arm is soon held down by Delta. At this, he finally lets out a yell of anger before trying to throw Odyssey off of him.

Major brings his legs up, all those years of dancing finally coming in to play, and gets his ankles locked in front of Odyssey's neck. He pushes back, forcing Odyssey back from destroying Major's face. But as Major tries to sit up, Odyssey grabs onto one of his ankles with both hands and with one quick movement, he snaps it and Major cries out sharply at the pain. Odyssey grabs onto the other ankle as Major's vision briefly blackens from the sudden pain and Major tries to brace himself for the pain of his other ankle getting broken, but it never comes.

Major blinks rapidly, finding Anastacia with her hand over Odyssey's, stopping him from breaking any more of Major's bones. She says something to the boy from Two and Major can only watch them, unable to hear a damn thing about what they have planned, but from the nasty looks they both give him, soon joined by Delta… He knows it can't be good.

Odyssey lets go of Major's ankle and soon he is being dragged to his feet by Delta who makes sure to kick at his broken ankle as she pulls his arms behind his back. He can feel his shoulders dangerously close to getting pulled out of their sockets as Odyssey leans closer to him. Major spits in his face since he can't flip him off, adding to the blood already there from Bell's death.

Odyssey scowls as he slowly wipes his face off before saying something to him that Major can clearly understand, even without his hearing. "Fuck you."

"I thought you wanted to fuck Misha, but if you insist," Major tells him with a shrug. "Geez, you sure move on fast after Bell's death."

Odyssey punches him again and Anastacia scrambles to hold him back as he curses at Major. "I…" Major starts to laugh at how much he has broken Odyssey but soon cuts off to cough up blood over himself. And if there's a chance he's not getting out of this alive…he's going to keep destroying him. "I'm glad…she's dead."

With that, Odyssey grabs onto one of his arms and Major cries out as his shoulder is popped out of place as Odyssey and Delta begin dragging him away towards the closest set of stairs out of the pit. "What- what are you doing?" Major asks quickly, looking around frantically as he tries to figure out what the hell they are doing with him. All of their weapons are behind them! "Demarcus! Help me!" Major calls, trying to get the one ally that is still on his side to help him out as they start to drag him away from there. He looks back over his shoulder, finding the boy from Four knocked out from when Major shoved him aside. "Shit," Major whispers, knowing he's alone and truly fucked.

Major whimpers as his broken ankle is dragged against the ground, partially in pain and partially in hope that they will put some pity on him. All he needs is just one moment of them putting their guard down…one moment to get free from them and change the outcome of this fight. His brain is running wild with thoughts as they get to the upper level and soon start dragging him down the stairs. "Please, don't do this," Major begs them, dragging his good foot and trying to slow them down as they lead him to wherever they have in mind. "I didn't do anything wrong!"

This earns him a kick to his broken ankle by Delta and Major gasps in pain, stumbling and only staying upright from the sharp grips of Delta and Odyssey holding him. He can feel their nails digging into his arm as they reach the lower floor and Anastacia begins trying each door they come across, some locked by the Gamemakers and some not what the three are searching for.

Major is running out of time. _He can't fucking fail._

This is what his parents have been training him for his entire life. He was supposed to win the Games for both of his parents and live out the legacy they never got to achieve. If he dies…he'll have failed them. Training him for the Games was the one thing that they were always so proud of him for doing. It was _all_ they wanted him to do…

And if he doesn't win…are they going to push his baby sister to do the same thing? He can't see her die…

Major starts shoving against Odyssey and Delta as Anastacia opens another door, ready to fight them off with everything in him. He screams in anger as he tries to slam his head into Delta's but she quickly shoves his face with her hand. He turns and bites down hard on her fingers, the metallic taste of blood filling his mouth as Delta rips her hand back, making the wounds deeper. Major spits out the blood on the ground as Odyssey grabs onto the back of his hair, yanking his head back hard. "Oh, kinky, you like hair pulling. You hear that Misha?"

Odyssey might have said something to him as he shoves Major into a room and Major laughs a little at his taunt to him, but it soon trails away when Major is pushed onto his knees and Odyssey holds back both arms, letting Delta step towards the blazing forge in the room. "What are you doing?" Major asks as he watches the girl from Four take a small pot with metal ingots in it and set it over the blaze, the metal quickly beginning to melt as Anastacia stands in front of him, looking smug as fuck. He looks back at what Delta is doing and a sinking pit starts to form in his stomach, growing suspicious of just what the three of them have planned.

"Please don't do this," Major begs them, growing petrified of the death they have planned for him. He doesn't deserve to die this way. He would take anything over this! A stab wound, head crushed, his intestines spilled out, _anything_ else. " _Please_!"

Anastacia steps closer to him, not looking exactly at him, and Major knows his fate is sealed when a grin slowly begins to form on her face as she shakes her head at him. "No."

* * *

 _Delta Zale, 17, District Four_

"It's almost ready." Delta uses one of the tools nearby to poke at the semi-liquid metal, smirk of satisfaction on her face as Major pleads in the background for his life. She can't wait to watch the asshole burn for everything he's done. "Can't we gag him or something?"

"No," Anastacia responds quickly, much to Delta's disappointment. "I'm enjoying hearing him beg for his life. Turns out he does have a heart and can feel something. I thought he was just cold hearted."

"I wouldn't call it having a heart," Odyssey says bitterly as Major keeps squirming in his grasp. "I'd call it him realizing he fucked up and got caught in his lies. Is that done yet?"

Delta gives him an annoyed look over her shoulder at the impatience in his tone. "Yes, let me just speed up the rate at that this melts. You'll get back at him for Bell, just chill."

"He also has to pay for what he did to Pad," Anastacia says quietly, crossing her arms as she glares at Major. She keeps talking to him, even though he can't hear a thing she's saying – which is a damn shame. "You thought you could get away with this, didn't you? You thought you could lie and cheat the people around you to get here. Well guess what? You're not getting away with this."

"I can't believe I didn't see this," Odyssey tells them, angrily staring down at Major in front of him. The boy is in rough shape from his fight with Bell and this…this has just been the icing on the cake of shitting things happening to him. "Fell right into his tricks. Bell knew…"

"You weren't the only one," Anastacia reassures him, but it only makes his scowl grow deeper.

"It's ready," Delta calls back to them, turning to give them a thumbs up so Major can see that his death has come. "Time for the bastard to burn."

"I'm sorry!" Major pleads with them as Delta picks up the pot of hot liquid metal, desperately attempting to save his life. "I'm sorry for whatever I did!"

"You're not sorry!" Anastacia yells at him, her own anger finally reaching a boiling point. She points accusingly at him, "You're just sorry that you got caught! You're not sorry that you tried to manipulate all of us, or that you abused Shard, or that you- you-" Anastacia cuts of as she takes a shaky breath and blinks a couple times, fighting back tears. When she continues, her voice is low as she steps closer to Major who has fallen quiet, staring at her with wide eyes. "Give me that pot."

"Gladly," Delta answers as she carefully steps over to Anastacia. Major stares up at them, actually crying tears of fear as Anastacia holds her hands out for the pot of metal. His split lip quivers as he pleads with them as Anastacia crouches down to be closer to his face level.

"Burn in hell, asshole," Anastacia quietly says in Major's face before standing up straight, the corners of her lips pulling up into a smug smile as she flips him off with both hands. She then holds out her hands to Delta, who carefully hands her the hot pot of liquid metal.

"No!" Major screams as he frantically starts squirming in Odyssey's grip. He kicks around and tries to lunge forward as Anastacia starts pouring the metal, dragging Odyssey with him and the boy from Two only has time to get one hand clear before two screams sound in the room. Delta can only stand back and watch as metal is poured over Major by Anastacia, the girl looking completely unforgiving as she kills her District partner. Major's screams are ear piercing as his head and face is burned by the metal pouring down before suddenly cutting off from metal covering his airways. His body convulses in pain as the metal solidifies around him, until he slumps to the ground with a loud _clink_ of the metal hitting the stone.

 _Boom._

The only sound left in the room is Odyssey's screams as he clutches his right hand to his chest. Delta stares at the hand encased in metal from him not getting back in time to avoid it, frozen in place and useless. Tears pour down his cheeks as he curls up on the floor, pain overwhelming him the seared skin under the metal. Delta cringes a little at the injury, only able to imagine how badly that must hurt, before her attention is brought back to the dead tribute in front of them.

Anastacia starts slowly laughing, building in volume until it's a full out cackle. She leans over, hands on her knees as she points over at Major. "Fuck you, Major!"

But her laughter soon cuts off as Odyssey cries out in pain. "Someone," he grits his teeth through the pain, clearly struggling to focus on anything other than the pain to form words. "Fucking… _help_ me!"

Delta and Anastacia both turn their attention over to him and Delta lets out a sigh, feeling…pity as she watches him writhe on the floor in pain, clutching a hand that will no longer work. And also…understanding? She's not used to this feeling… Sadness? Fuck it, she doesn't know what. All she knows is that she feels pity for him in pain, both physical and mental from the loss of Bell.

"What happened to him?" Anastacia asks, unaware of the injury she unknowingly contributed towards from her focus purely on Major.

"Metal got on his hand," Delta tells her, frowning as she stares down at Odyssey who looks up at them with tear stained eyes. She stares at his hand, the way it's curled into a fist and coated in silver metal. "There's no way we're getting that off…"

"Oh…" Anastacia says quietly, frowning for just a moment, but her excitement at Major's death doesn't keep her frowning for long. She tries to look in Odyssey's direction and gives an apologetic smile. "Sorry about that, kind of blind. I didn't mean it."

Delta takes a couple steps closer to Odyssey and at seeing her face, he scrambles on the floor away from her, whimpering in pain and fear. "Get back!" He tells her as she crouches down in front of her, even though he's weaponless.

She should just kill him now…bring herself one step closer to victory. Not like he's going to get very far now when his dominant hand his damaged beyond use, removing any possibility of him using a bow anymore. And yet she stays still, staring down at the sad boy. "I'm sorry," she tells him. Not because she's going to kill him. But…

Because she knows what he's feeling. She knows what kind of loss he's feeling right now from Bell's death. She just went through that a year ago with her father… She knows the burning hot rage he felt that led them here that will soon turn to soul crushing sadness, a deep pit that feels inescapable. Then the feeling of needing to do something to fill the void…yet the void hasn't been filled for her. She's killed rebels…yet still feels so empty.

Delta shakes her head as she reaches for the belt of knives around her waist. She removes one and gently tosses it to him, pity stopping her from leaving him with absolutely nothing. And, well…he did help them out with killing Major. "I'm sorry about Bell, really. I…good luck out there."

Odyssey nods his head as he whimpers in pain once more, reaching out with his good hand to shakily pick up the knife before holding it defensively in front of him, clearly not trusting her completely. And he shouldn't…maybe he'll be alright on his own.

"Come on, Anastacia," Delta calls to the girl from One who is still looking over in Odyssey's direction.

"We're just leaving him?" Anastacia asks curiously, raising one eyebrow as she turns in Delta's direction. "Why?"

Delta just shrugs, really not having a good explanation for why she is just leaving him. She should kill him now, bring their numbers down to eight remaining, but she can't. "The career pack is done," Delta says, avoiding the topic.

"What about Demarcus?" Anastacia asks her as Delta leaves the room and the whimpering Odyssey behind, hating this feeling in her of pity for him. So she does the only thing she knows: put it behind her and try to pretend it doesn't exist.

"Forget him," Delta responds, briefly glancing back over her shoulder to make sure that Anastacia is following her. "He supported Major."

"I don't think he knew better," Anastacia tries to reason with her, but it's useless.

Delta shakes her head as she heads towards the nearest staircase, "Doesn't matter. He's on his own now. We get supplies and move on."

"Move on to what?"

Delta stops, putting out her hand to stop Anastacia from walking right into her. She stares at her last remaining ally for a moment, the smile lingering there from finally getting her revenge against Major. If she was smart…she should leave her behind. Yet…part of her, for some unknown reason that confuses her just as much as the feeling towards Odyssey, keeps her from leaving Anastacia behind. "Move on to victory."

* * *

 _Night Four_

 _Anastacia Astoria, 18, District One_

A deep sense of fulfillment fills Anastacia as she puts her arms behind her head and lays back, facing the open night sky above them from the top level of the arena. Any minute now, the anthem should be playing and showing the last glimpse of the bastard that was her District partner.

Part of her was worried that killing him wouldn't change anything and leaving her feeling emptier. But if anything…it gave her a bigger drive. She actually _did_ something to stop someone who was abusing people. She killed an abuser, and not just anyone. Anastacia Astoria did that.

It…might have been too late for Pad… But she got justice for them. For years and years, she wondered why them. Why did those things have to happen to them? Was there something she could have done differently? It took a long time, but she finally got that answer and she made the changes she could now… And she knows that they are surely looking down on her now and proud of where she is. Now…now she can help other people that are in situations like Pad or Shard, or like Beryl last year, and get them in a better place. Get them out of the abusive households and in a safe place. She's one step closer to reaching the goal she's had for years. Only eight more people stand in her way now…

And most importantly, Major will never have another chance to be a manipulative snake. He got what he deserved…he finally got burned for all the people he lied and manipulated over the years. She knows his death was brutal and yet…she's not apologizing for it. Why shouldn't he suffer in his last moments after he made people suffer?

The anthem begins to play, bringing a smile to her face as tears start to form. "It was all for you, Pad…" Anastacia says softly and tries to discretely wipe away her tears, even though Delta surely must see her doing so. It's an odd feeling in her, this satisfaction at Major's death mixed with the lingering guilt that if she would have known sooner, maybe she could have stopped Pad's death…

But their death happened so long ago… As much as she wishes she could change it, there's nothing else she can do now except keeping moving forward. Keep moving forward and do her best to protect others at risk and vulnerable like Pad.

"There he is, the smug bastard," Delta tells her as Major's face appears. "He got what was coming to him, that's for sure. I hate liars and cheaters."

"I wish I could have seen his face," Anastacia responds, shaking her head at her lack of sight. If there is anything she wishes she could see in this world…first it would be Pad still alive. But second would be that snake begging her for forgiveness that he will _never_ get from her.

"So do I," Delta tells her from where she lays next to her, surprisingly subdued all evening. "I've never seen him look that petrified. And Odyssey beat him up good."

"Sounded like it," Anastacia answers quietly as the anthem stops and they fall into silence for a few minutes, letting Anastacia think about their former ally. She didn't mean to hurt him while killing Major, but also at this point in the Games, everyone is just doing what's necessary. Except… "Hey Delta?"

"Hmm?" Delta says next to her and Anastacia hears some rustling as Delta moves around, trying to find a more comfortable spot to lay on the cold hard ground.

"Why didn't you kill Odyssey?" Anastacia asks curiously, turning her head to face Delta. When her ally stays quiet for a while, she keeps talking, unable to know what kind of unspoken thing she's saying. "He seemed weak and…vulnerable. We could have been at the final eight now…"

"I…" Delta gives a heavy sigh and falls quiet once more, and Anastacia lets her be, knowing by now that she'll talk if she wants and no one can change that. "I don't really know… Poor guy just seemed broken…" Delta clears her throat before changing the topic away from her, "But how do you feel now that he's gone?"

Anastacia rolls with the change, not wanting to start anything with her right now. Not when she's the only ally she has left. "Good," Anastacia answers honestly as she sits up. She feels around for one of the blankets they took when gathering supplies from the cornucopia and smushes it up in a ball to use as a pillow as she lays back down. "Satisfied, really. I didn't know what he was up to until the Games but…it feels good to get vengeance for what he did to my friend years ago… Cheaters and abusers don't deserve to get away unpunished. I suppose it feels like I accomplished a big goal, you know?"

"Not really," Delta mutters, so quiet Anastacia isn't really certain if she fully heard her. But rustling down below gives Delta something else to focus on. Anastacia can hear Delta moving around to peer down below to their old camp. "Demarcus is waking up."

"I feel kind of bad…" Anastacia says quietly as she hears Demarcus calling out for them and hearing no response. She can imagine exactly what he's feeling right now, being blind and waking up from getting knocked out to find all of his allies are gone…

But it's the Hunger Games. She shouldn't be feeling bad for one of the tributes that's her competition. Not when she's getting so much closer to achieving her life goals.

"He got the bag we left," Delta tells her and Anastacia nods her head. That was the least they could do for him since they were leaving him behind. They could have been a lot worse and killed him while he was unconscious. She thinks Delta even bandaged up his head for him… "He's…heading towards the stairs."

"No point staying out there alone," Anastacia says with a shrug before adjusting her makeshift pillow again. "Maybe he'll find Odyssey down below. Either way, better off for him that he wasn't involved in everything earlier. He might have done something stupid because of Major."

Delta scoffs at this and actually chuckles a little. "I'm sure he would have. He's not bad, just…"

"Competition?" Anastacia offers. "Your biggest threat to not being the one returning home to Four?"

"Yeah," Delta agrees, the laughter dying from her voice. She lets out a sigh and Anastacia hears rustling next to her as Delta gets comfortable next to her, laying close as they haven't started a fire up here. It just feels…dangerous, going from six to two in 24 hours. "I think it would be easier to have someone like Major as your District partner."

Anastacia snorts at this and shakes her head, really not believing that anyone would ever want Major as their District partner. She's ashamed to have him as her own and she's glad to now be District One's shot at victory. "You don't want that."

"You're right, I don't," Delta laughs once more. "But it would be a little easier if I could just hate Demarcus. But…what can you do? Anyways… You go ahead and get some sleep," Delta tells her through a yawn. Anastacia gives her a confused look, not understanding her tone…but decides it's best not to question now. "I'll take first watch. You've earned some rest after today."

"I suppose," Anastacia answers softly, even if her mind still feels alert from the adrenaline of the day, with the Trial by Combat and then Major's death. So much has changed in just a few hours today. But she can feel the exhaustion in her body, so at the very least she can just rest…

And for the first time since entering the arena, she's not afraid to fall asleep and be vulnerable around her allies. She no longer has to worry about her District partner trying to take her down.

All that's left for her to worry about is getting back home to One.

* * *

 **Eulogies:**

 _Major Emerson-Ness [1], Ranked 10th, Killed by Anastacia [1]:_

 _We all knew this has been coming for a long time now. I knew it, you knew it, we were all waiting for it from the start of his manipulation. But woo boy what a wild ride this cold hearted snake has been! I really couldn't imagine having this story without Major as part of it and I'm genuinely sad that I will no longer get to write him, but it was his time. He played with fire and he got burned - quite literally. He was so much more than just a villain and had such a sad reason for being the way he is. Doesn't excuse him, but does make you understand him a bit more. If he hadn't been doomed by Clark, he honestly would have had a good shot at becoming the victor. Thank you so much for sending this absolutely delightful villain for me to write, Celtic! RIP Major._

 **And now...now we enter a new chapter of the Games, one with a fractured career pack and no more snakes in the arena. I'm actually really sad Major won't be around anymore, even though I've been very hyped to reach this point as his death was the first thing I planned for the arena! We will get back to our regularly scheduled non-career drama next chapter, but these two events just needed to be the sole focus of the chapters. And we only have one death to go until we reach our final 8 interviews, so who will it be?**

 **Well everyone, this will be the last Senseless update for 2019 (and what a chapter to end the year on XD) so happy new years and I will see you all in 2020.**


	40. Day Five: Without You

**Chapter 36:**

 _Night Four_

 _Demarcus Pollock, 18, District Four_

Demarcus groans as he slowly comes to, putting a hand up to his throbbing head and gently touching it. He gasps at the pain and quickly moves his hand away, but soon slowly reaches back towards the injury and gently feels it, confused by the bandages there.

"What…happened?" Demarcus asks slowly as he pushes himself upright, needing to pause as his head spins and a ringing starts in his ears. He puts his hand to his forehead at the pounding headache that started from him moving, needing to wait a few seconds for things to slow down. "Guys?"

Demarcus can feel his heart start beating faster as he turns around, growing more desperate with each passing second of silence. "Hello? Guys?" Demarcus asks louder as he tries to control his increasing breathing and panic building. "Anyone there?"

Demarcus holds his breath as he waits in silence…waiting for any sound that might mean that he isn't alone in the arena without his sight… But there's nothing. Just a slight breeze blowing through the arena. No crackling fire. No breathing of his allies or snoring as one of them tries to sleep. No quiet conversation…

There's _nothing_.

His eyes start to water in fear at being alone in the arena and there's no stopping the growing panic in his head. Why would they just leave him all alone? What did he do wrong to them? Was he too annoying? Too dependent on them that they got tired of dealing with him being blind?

Demarcus shakes his head as he tries to recall what happened, but his brain is muddled. There was the fight with Bell and Odyssey…someone crying…yet he can't remember who even won now. He can't remember what led to him passed out on the ground with a head injury – which must be the cause of the gap in his memory. He doesn't even know who is still alive of his allies – no, his _former_ allies… Anastacia, Major, Odyssey, Bell, Delta… They just left him. He doesn't understand how Major and Bell could just leave him after all they had done helping him…

But they didn't _just_ leave him. Demarcus feels at the bandage on his head once more. They…they helped patch him up. But why? Why bother doing that if they were just going to leave him? They should have just left him there if they really wanted to leave him.

He knew this moment would happen eventually…but he had been hoping that someone would want to stick with him. Not even Delta…? Demarcus had been under the impression that they would have a pact to make it to the end. That's what Iona had planned…

But Delta has made it clear what she thinks of him. Of course she thinks he's not worth sticking with… Why would anyone want to stay with him? He's just an anxious paranoid mess who is blind and barely wanted to kill… Maybe District Four is better off with Delta as their shot at winning.

Except…not all of District Four. His family…they won't be better off with Delta winning. They'll continue to struggle with their mental health, unable to ever get the treatment they so badly need because they can't afford it with his parents constantly moving between jobs… They _need_ him to win…

As scared as he is to face the arena on his own and with no sight…Demarcus knows he has to do it. No one else is going to help out his family if he doesn't do what is necessary and win for them. Yet it's so hard to work up the courage to go out and do that when his brain is screaming at him that he can't do it.

Demarcus takes a deep breath, trying to bring himself down and out of a panic attack. "They chose you to be the volunteer out of dozens of good options," Demarcus starts telling himself quietly. "They chose _you_. Demarcus Pollock."

 _But why would they make such a stupid choice and pick him?_

Demarcus shakes his head as he fights back tears. "I am good enough," he whispers to himself, trying so desperately to believe that. But it's so hard when he knows the others all left him alone. "The split would have happened eventually. You couldn't stick with them forever…"

 _But couldn't Delta have stayed with him? Out of District unity?_

But Delta wouldn't be able to win with him… Only one of them is going to get out of this arena alive… And Demarcus needs that person to be him. Not Delta. Not any of his other allies. Not any of the other tributes still out there…however many that is. Ten? Whoever lost in the fight would bring them to ten, right? Assuming there were no other deaths while he was out…

Demarcus supposes he won't ever get that information now that he's alone. He can only count on himself…which is a terrifying thought without his sight. "But you trained without your sight," Demarcus tells himself as he starts searching around him for water, almost positive he had brought a bottle over with him. "You can do -" He cuts off when his hand brushes against a bag and he initially flinches away in surprise, before slowly reaching back up to better identify it. The bag is heavy, surprising him further and a spear rolls off of it as he moves it to him.

His hand shakes as he searches inside, feeling all sorts of supplies that will help him survive on his own. "I…what?" He asks himself, confused on why this is here. He doubts anyone sponsored this to him, he hasn't done anything to earn their support… So did they leave it for him?

But why would they do that when leaving him?

Someone patched up his injury and left supplies for him… Someone was still looking out for him and wants to see him survive on his own. Demarcus' eyes begin to water at this, not feeling like he deserves someone doing that and unsure who it would have been. But a weird sense of obligation to do something starts slowly building in him, fighting against the anxiety threatening to cripple him – now mixed in with a bit of anxiety about disappointing whoever did this for him.

Demarcus doesn't know what to do now…except knowing that he has to do _something_. Maybe he could find his allies and they would take him back…or they might attack him. The last thing he wants to do right now is fight anyone, especially his former allies, even though he knows it's going to happen eventually if he wants to win for his family. He'll have to kill again eventually, but he'll put that off as long as possible. But one thing he knows is that he can't just keep sitting here out in the open where anyone could see him and he can't see them. He hates big open spaces, even before losing his sight…which really leaves only one place to go.

Down where all the other tributes are.

Demarcus puts the bag over his shoulder gently before picking up the spear. He feels around it to find the sharp tip and then used the blunt end to help pull himself up slowly as everything spins and he starts worrying that he might empty out whatever is in his stomach. He takes a few deep breaths through his mouth, waiting for the dizziness and nausea to pass him, all while starting to put together what all the symptoms mean from training. He most likely has a concussion…which is going to complicate things further. But people have won with worse injuries before. Tributes with _no_ training at all have won before.

 _But no blind tributes have won._

Yet. No blind tributes have won yet… He could change that…

Demarcus starts tapping the end of his spear in front of him, slowly guiding himself out of the stands where he was passed out. He has to try and change that… His family is counting on him. So he must try and win.

Demarcus reaches the stairs and hesitates for a moment, knowing that going down below will increase his chances of running into other tributes. But it must happen if he's going to get out of here… So he starts up the steps, repeating over and over to himself, "I am enough."

And yet as he starts down the stairs to the lower level…he really doesn't feel like he's enough to actually win…

* * *

 _Day Five_

 _Amelia Fensa, 18, District Three_

With yesterday bringing them down to only nine left already…Amelia knows it's time for her to do something. She can't just keep sitting around and waiting for the careers to pick themselves off and the others and coast by to the victory. No one will want to see a victor that doesn't do anything, _especially_ not for a Quarter Quell…

Which means she has to do something that is inevitable, but something she wishes she could put off.

She has no idea what time it is as she looks over at Fox sleeping against the wall, gently snoring a bit. The only thing she has to tell time down here is the anthem, and that was at least a few hours ago, leaving her plenty of time to think about her next step. Fox will be waking up soon…to no one there.

Amelia wishes there was some other way for this, but she knows she'll never leave him if he's awake and able to plead with her to stay. She'll agree because how can she possibly turn down the sweet young father? But she has to do this. She has to do _something_ in the Games before the Gamemakers force her to and she will _not_ die in one of their traps or force her to make her first kill against Fox tomorrow in the next Trial by Combat.

Leaving him while he's asleep is really the only option…one that she hates. But her hand has been forced. The pressure is on now that they're nearly at the final eight. Those that haven't done anything or those who the audience doesn't like…they're going to start getting taken out one by one, and Amelia refuses to be part of that.

"I'm sorry," Amelia whispers to Fox as she stares down at her sleeping ally, hoping he'll forgive her for this, hoping he'll understand that she is just trying to do what's necessary for her to get out of here alive. And no part of her could ever succeed in killing Fox. It's…best for both of them that they split now and someone else finds him… "Best of luck, Fox."

Amelia picks up her bag of food, a similar pile of safe food next to Fox. It's…the least she can do since she's leaving him alone. She's also leaving behind half of the rest of their meager supplies, even if she has every right to take them. But not the flashlight. That she's taking for herself, even if it means leaving him with nothing to defend himself…

Amelia takes a deep breath as she holds onto the heavy metal flashlight and stares at the door for a few seconds, debating every aspect of this decision. Some would expect her to kill Fox now while he's unaware while others would hate her for it. And then there's some that would want her to stay. But the only opinion that matters is that of the Head Gamemaker…

She can only hope she's making the right choice in his eyes.

Amelia takes one last glance over her shoulder at Fox sleeping, before putting her shoulders back stubbornly and heading out the door. She shuts it behind her gently, not wanting to alert Fox to her leaving already, and then…then she makes her way back into the arena. But this time…it's different. There's still terror inside her but it's being held back by her stubbornness. The tributes remaining are different now too. With two career deaths, Amelia can only hope for the best option that they have split up and increase her odds.

Odds. She shakes her head as she heads down the hallway, thinking about her odds and how Argos had insisted that her odds were good enough to win. Does he still think that about her? Or was he just saying those things to sleep with her and he's already moved on to some other girl? And does it even really matter what he's doing right now when he's safe and she's in the arena?

No…but being alone again, she can't help her thoughts from going to him and how nice his company had been, making her feel alive once more. Hopefully she can stay alive long enough to keep feeling that way towards him. How she wound up with the son of a victor not even from either of the Districts she might call home…she'll never understand how that-

Amelia stops suddenly as a stumbling figure comes into view and fear freezes her in place, gripping her flashlight with both hands in front of her and ready to defend herself. "Stay back!" Amelia calls out defensively, doing her best to keep her voice from showing any of the fear coursing through her as the figure takes a few steps closer to her. "I'm armed!"

Not…quite armed, but one can hope it works. The figure hesitates for a moment and Amelia uses the chance to flip on her flashlight for a moment in their direction, hoping the sudden light with blind them and give her a small advantage. But when she does, she realizes the error of that mistake very quickly.

"Shit," Amelia says as she shuts off the flashlight as Demarcus turns fully in her direction, not at all blinded by the light because he's already blind. He steps towards her, holding his spear defensively in front of her and Amelia covers her mouth with her hand to hold back any sound as she takes a few steps back. He doesn't quite follow her and Amelia takes another step, thinking she might be able to get away from him…

But if she keeps going back, she might lead him right to Fox. And…if there were any tribute for her to maybe find and be able to kill…it would be one of the blind ones.

Ah, shit. She kept saying she needed to do something. Well…here's something.

Amelia glances around the hallway, assessing all of her options as Demarcus keeps slowly stepping in her general direction. The hallway is wide enough that she can slip past him, as long as she stays quiet and then run away. Or…Amelia tightens her hands around her flashlight as she starts taking slow steps along the wall, getting closer to Demarcus.

She pauses after each step and takes each one slowly, knowing that one sound could bring him down on her and she does not like how sharp that spear is.

"Who's there?" Demarcus calls out, turning his head around to try and hear her. "Hello?"

Amelia doesn't answer him as she steps away from the wall, inching closer and closer to him. She raises her flashlight up above her head. Almost there…just a couple more steps…

Amelia cries out as she brings the flashlight down on his head, hearing a loud thump as she makes contact, and Demarcus lets out a noise of pain before falling to the ground. Amelia quickly snatches up his spear away from him before he has any chance to make a move for it and steps back, staring down at the career groaning in pain on the ground, before she quickly turns and runs down the hallway, clutching her flashlight and spear to her chest desperately.

She keeps running and running until she starts to get winded and she turns on her flashlight. She swings the beam of light around, trying to find any sort of sign of where she is in the lower level, but there's nothing to distinguish this bit of wall from where she just left. She just…has to take her chance and just pick a door to go in…

Well…she's had good odds so far with the doors on outer wall…why not try one again? Amelia hesitantly opens the door and as she steps in, she can't help a laugh. What are the odds of her ending up in the same room that her and Fox just recently left?

Amelia shakes her head as she shuts the door behind her and leans against it, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. She looks down at her hands, finding them shaking as they hold onto the flashlight and spear – she has an actual weapon now! And yet…she knows the cost for it.

"Come on, already," Amelia whispers as she stares blankly ahead into the room, waiting for the sound that both terrifies and excites her each time she hears it. She waits and waits, her body tense the whole time, just waiting to hear the cannon go off that signifies that she did something, finally.

But in the dark, she once more has no idea how much time is actually passing. Seconds? Minutes? Who knows? Until…

 _Boom._

Amelia lets out a breath of relief before her mind starts racing at just what this means. Holy shit…she killed a career. She did. _Amelia took down a career!_ If she could kill a career…what's to stop her?

A laugh starts to bubble up in her, one she can't quite control as she slides down the wall to the floor. When was the last time she laughed like this? Probably that last night before the Games up on the rooftop… But before then, not in a year. How could the Games bring to her all this positive emotion? And an even stranger emotion is building in her, one that catches her off guard as she hasn't felt this since…well since the start of the Games last year.

Hope.

"I might actually do this, Aero," Amelia whispers as she reaches into her pocket to pull out the picture of the two of them. She rubs her thumb across the image, a smile forming on her face as more laughter slips out. "I'm winning for both of us."

* * *

 _Fete Bayard, 18, District Eight_

Nine tributes. Nine fucking tributes left and Fete Bayard is somehow one of them. He's honestly as surprised as probably everyone back home is that he's still alive. How the hell did he live longer than two of the careers, one who had one of the highest scores? Well, everyone outscored him, yet he's outlived more than half of them and he doesn't know how. He's done nothing to prove he even wants to win. He sobbed and moped around for days after he lost his best friend. Does he even want to win…?

He's been trying so hard to still have motivation and hope…but what's the fucking point? What's the point in having hope about getting home when he'll be returning to no one? He has no family, no friends. He has cats. That's all he fucking has that gives a damn about him and they can't even communicate with him and give him any support.

It's not really a surprise that Astrid and Clark have given up on him too. No more gifts for him, no more support. Why did they even bother supporting him in the first place? They just wasted time and money trying to get him anything.

Fete wraps his arms around himself as he starts shivering, refusing to cry anymore and just have people keep pitying him. His own pity party is big enough. But damn it, he misses the warmth of being next to the forge. He slept so much better there in the warmth…what he really misses is the warmth of his cats cuddling by his side. His eyes drift over to the bathtubs on the other side of the room, contemplating them once more. He knows that they work…having a water source here was one of the only things keeping his pathetic weak body still going… But he has been a bit hesitant about having a bath on live television in front of the whole country. Just thinking about that has been enough to give him dysphoria he hasn't felt at this level in months since his surgery.

Another big shiver travels down his spine and Fete tries wrapping the thin blanket around him tighter. Warm water would feel so nice right now… But who says he has to bathe naked? Fuck it, he wants to be warm. He'll just keep his toga on and deal with drying it later…somehow. Go back to the forge? Just suffer being cold? Well he's already doing that last one.

Fuck it, Fete wants some damn warmth.

Fete slowly stretches out his cold and tense muscles, keeping the blanket around him as he stands up and has to grab onto the frame of the bed for a moment as the world spins a little. He knows he can't keep going much longer without food, but he just can't bring himself to care and go look for any. What's the point? If he's going to die, at least he can have some warmth and comfort. And stop smelling. Please, let him stop smelling so badly.

Fete takes slow steps over to the bathtub, his whole body protesting each step from the lack of movement. When he reaches the tub, he sits on the edge and plugs the drain before cranking on the hot water. Steam starts rising from the pouring water and Fete lets out a sigh as he kicks off his sandals before dipping his toes in the water. _Fuck yeah._

After feeling that small bit of warmth, Fete quickly slips into the tub, feeling a little weird at first about having a toga on in the water, but as it keeps filling up and the water level passes him… Yeah, he should have done this a long time ago. Eventually he reaches over and turns off the water, leaving the room in silence as Fete slips further into the tub, barely keeping his head above water to maximize the warmth. It's a little _too_ hot, which is just perfect for him.

"Finally I can sleep now," Fete mutters to himself as he gets comfortable and shuts his eyes. He lets out a content sigh at finally feeling warm again. He can usually fall asleep almost anywhere but this cold…that was somehow nearly impossible for him to sleep in.

Fete can feel himself starting to doze off, a small hint of a smile on his face. Ah, sweet, sweet darkness of sleep…

Fete's eyes jolt open at the sound of the door slamming open and he keeps his head down in the water, trying not to make any noise in the water. His brain is muddled from being asleep for who knows how long – based on the temperature of the water…a good amount of time. He hears the person shut the door behind them, followed by the sound of them crying. Fete stays low in the tub, just waiting for them to come over and find him…but they don't.

Soon the sound of sobs start echoing in the room and Fete's curiosity keeps building with each passing minute. Could he have been lucky enough that one of the deaf or blind tributes found him? Seems unlikely, given his string of rotten luck in life… But also, crying? There's really only a couple tributes he could see being as pitiful as him and crying over something in the arena… Tributes who might not want to kill him.

Because who the fuck is he trying to fool here…death terrifies him, even if he feels so hopeless about living.

Fete can't fight the curiosity for much longer when he keeps hearing sobbing from the other side of the room. Slowly he begins picking his head up out of the water, trying his best to not make any noise, to peek his head above the edge of the tub to see who is in the room with him.

 _Fuck._

Fete quickly brings his head back down, barely splashing water in the tub and he's almost certain he'll hear him, but Odyssey's sobs continue from where he's curled up on one of the beds. Fuck, fuck, fuck. _Damn it._ Why a fucking career?! And what damn right does he have sobbing right now? He's a damn career! He trained and volunteered for this bullshit.

What does he do? Does he just wait in the tub and hope that Odyssey will leave soon? But what if he doesn't? Does he make a run for it?

Fete stares up at the ceiling, his eyes starting to water in fear as he floats in the water. So this is it…this is how he's going to die. Waiting around in a bathtub until finally noticed by the career, unless he somehow gets lucky… Fete nearly laughs at that. Yeah right, he won't get lucky.

As he stares up at the ceiling, a panel opens up and a silver canister starts floating down, beeping cheerfully as it falls to the ground, putting Fete right between it and Odyssey. _Astrid, why?!_ But the canister turns as Odyssey's sobs stop, revealing the bright red '2' on the side of it, and Fete knows he's truly fucked.

"I don't deserve anything," Odyssey says aloud as he starts walking over, his slow footsteps echoing in the room around them as Fete's brain scrambles for something – _anything_ – he can do to try and prevent his death. There's no way Odyssey isn't going to notice him there and the only way he could even have a _remote_ chance of hurting him is if he surprises him…

Fete lets his body relax and float in the tub and struggles to slow his breathing as he stares blankly up at the ceiling as the footsteps get closer. He might not be fooling anyone into thinking he's dead…but maybe he can fool a grief-stricken career.

Fete resists the urge to look over as Odyssey gets closer to him and hears when he stops. "Shit," Odyssey mutters as he starts stepping closer to the tub, close enough that Fete can see him clutching his hand to his chest as he tries to wipe at his eyes with the other, no weapons in sight. But as Odyssey stares down at Fete, a frown starts to form on his face. "I didn't hear a cannon…"

Ah…there's the flaw in Fete's plan. Of course there's a flaw. Why would he ever come up with a plan to fool a career?

Fete watches as Odyssey slowly pieces it together and Fete pushes himself towards him before he makes a move, splashing water everywhere. Fete tries to grab Odyssey's neck but the career quickly shoves him back before slamming him in the head with his fist, stunning Fete and knocking him back into the water.

Fete gasps in pain as Odyssey uses his hands to push him under the water, making Fete take in a large amount of water. He starts choking and coughing, trying to get the water out of his lungs as he fights against the weight pushing him down under the surface of the water. Through the choppy water he can see the blurred image of Odyssey's face as he holds him down, but the image soon starts to fade as his lungs scream for air.

Just like everyone expected…he's not winning. As everything starts to fade away, one thought fills his head, one of regret and guilt…

 _I'm sorry, Atropa._

* * *

 _Odyssey Gunderson, 18, District Two_

What the fuck is he doing?

Odyssey stares over at the tub, the body floating in the water and actually dead now…before turning to look at his hands in disbelief of what he's done. One hand encased in metal, frozen in place from where he held onto Major as they killed him… He can still hear the ear piercing screams as they poured the metal over him, still see the burning flesh… The pain that Odyssey also felt…

Did Major really deserve such a terrible death? Odyssey had thought so in that moment, so full of blazing rage that he couldn't focus on anything other than killing the person he blamed for killing Bell instead of putting the blame on himself. It was so much easier to blame someone else, easier to fight off the guilt haunting him. But now…was it worth it when he did this to himself? Killing Major that way didn't change the fact that Bell is gone and it was Odyssey's fault.

Odyssey holds back another sob, feeling his whole world crumbling around him as guilt overwhelms him. What is wrong with him to kill someone like that? That pain Odyssey felt in his hand… _God_ , he can only imagine just how painful that would be being poured over his head… He could have stopped that. He could have just killed Major with his spear or some other normal weapon. Something less painful… But he went along with what Anastacia suggested.

Odyssey fucking deserves to have lost his hand for what he did.

And now someone else is dead at his hands… Odyssey looks back at Fete's lifeless body, trying to convince himself that he isn't a monster for what he's done to both Major and Fete. Fete attacked him first…with no weapons of any kind. Odyssey had a knife in his pocket and could have killed him that way, not by drowning him… But in that moment, he didn't even think. He just fought back and killed him with what he had available. But fuck…drowning?

First molten metal over the head, now drowning. There's no point denying it anymore… Odyssey is an awful person.

And the worst part…he's afraid of the person he's become. But he's suffering through grief…he was getting revenge for his friend's death…and then he was just defending himself… Yet that doesn't justify what he's done…

Odyssey lets out another sob as he rips the helmet off his head and throws it at the wall, creating a loud crashing as it falls to the floor. He starts yanking at the other pieces of armor on him, trying to rip them off of him, yet he can only get some of the pieces off and some hang there, still attached by straps on his left side that he can't get off with his broken hand. He doesn't deserve this armor. He doesn't deserve this with what he's done.

He lets out a scream of frustration as he gives up on taking off the armor before slamming his metal fist against the side of the tub, a small crack forming in the ceramic. Odyssey stops for a moment, staring at the crack and his hand for a moment, before slamming it back down, over and over again, anger and loathing towards himself building with each hit that he can't feel. Finally, a large chunk falls off and water spills out onto the floor around him.

Odyssey stares at the water around him, breathing heavy as he tries to stop the burning anger in him, but just growing ashamed at himself. He can't even handle his anger and grief… Look at him, taking out his anger on others and things around him when he only has himself to blame.

"I killed her," Odyssey whispers as the silver canister floats on the water near him, starting to beep once more. He doesn't reach for it, even as it stops in front of him, feeling undeserving of any other sponsor gifts. "I killed Bell…my friend…" Odyssey shakes his head as fresh tears begin to form in his eyes and he makes no effort to stop them. "And Major…killing him felt…felt _good_ and I hate that…"

"I don't deserve this…" Odyssey whispers as he reaches out for the canister, even though he shouldn't be supported. Yet he pops open the lid and steam rises out of it and he looks in, only making himself feel worse when he can't even smell one of his favorite foods. Another punishment he deserves, not even able to enjoy pineapple on pizza. But his mouth starts watering at the small bottle of water in there and with a shaky hand, he takes it out and takes a slow sip.

Despite his stomach growling at the sight of the pizza, Odyssey doesn't take it out yet. Does he really deserve it? Not really… Instead, he takes out the note on top of the container holding the pizza. Part of him doesn't want to see what his mentor has to say, afraid that she'll be disappoint in him, just like he is with himself. But curiosity wins over and he tries to brush away the tears to actually read it.

' _Get it together already. Everyone is still supporting you so don't let them down. You're our only hope now – Kat and the citizens of Two'_

Part of him doesn't truly believe this… How could they still be supporting him after he killed his friend and District partner?

What does his family even think of him after this? His mother…always telling him to plan better… Yeah he really should have listened to her there. Julia…always supporting him, but he doubts she will now. Even Laurentina probably won't support him anymore. This is more reason for Calypso to not approve of him in the Games. And Penny… _God_ , what must Penny think of him now? "I'm sorry…"

And Misha…Misha must hate him now and want nothing to do with him. Misha never did anything like this in his Games. He never had to kill his friend, nor did he brutally kill his former ally. He can't even blame him for not wanting anything to do with Odyssey anymore after this. Even if that would break whatever bit of him that isn't broken.

Odyssey doesn't even know anymore who will be there to support him when he's out…

Odyssey looks at the note again and crumbles it up and he's ready to throw it away, but stops when he sees writing on the other side of it. He does his best to open it back up with one hand, struggling to read what's there.

' _P.S. Misha organized this.'_

"Misha…" Odyssey whispers as fresh tears form quickly and he lets out another sob. How is he still supporting him after seeing what he did to Bell and Major? And to organize raising money for all of this…at this point, those items can't be cheap… _He still supports him._ "I don't deserve you."

And yet…those three words spark a tiny little piece of motivation in him that struggles to fight the crushing grief and guilt. Misha still supports him, despite everything… He so badly wishes he was with Misha right now, realizing just how desperately he could use someone comforting him right now. Well, not right here in the arena with him… Fuck no, he would never want that. Guess he will have to get out of the arena to get that comfort…

He just has to do what Darach told him and push aside his feelings until he is out alive. Deal with the guilt when he's safe and has Misha. Except…how the fuck is he supposed to do that? How can he just push this all aside and be numb? If he knew how, he would have done that a long time ago.

But no…Odyssey doesn't want to push aside the guilt. He needs to keep reminding himself of what he did so he doesn't do anything else he regrets… And then…then he just has to outlive seven more tributes.

"I'll get home to you, Misha," Odyssey says before looking down at his metal hand and feeling so much doubt in his ability to actually do that. "I…don't know how…but I will. For you and for Bell…"

* * *

 **Eulogies:**

 _Fete Bayard [8], Ranked 9th, Killed by Odyssey [2]:_

 _I know some people were expecting this death while others were expecting Fete to get an arc, but... Not every tribute is going to get some grand arc in the arena because not every tribute is going to be able to withstand what has happened to them. For Fete, losing his best friend and being alone...it broke him. He couldn't pull himself back together in time and at this point in the Games, tributes can't keep coasting by. It was heartbreaking to write his loss and feeling so hopeless. Mik, you asked for death by bubble bath and I had to make it happen, somehow XD I think I added in that room to the arena just for this lol. Thank you so much for sending him! RIP Fete._

 **And with that, it's the final 8! Which means time for a small break from the Games to get interviews with the families and friends of our remaining tributes! It also means it is time for a Special Sponsoring Sale! That's right, we're doing a sale. With only eight left, sense items are now going to be 50%* off so act now to get those items! Only one of each sense item will be sent to the collective group.**

 ***50% off is from the base price and excludes daily inflation costs**

 **So I guess all I'll ask with this chapter is of the final 8, who do you think will be the victor and is that answer different compared to the start of the Games?**

 **See you all soon with the final 8 interviews! If it ends up getting too long, I might split it up into two chapters lol, we'll see!**


	41. Final Eight Interviews Part 1

**Chapter 37:**

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

"I don't want to leave you."

Seraphim sighs at this, feeling the exact same way about Zephyr leaving him, even if it is just for the day. "I don't want you leaving either…but we can't send Theodosius with her."

"Shouldn't Peacekeepers be enough to protect her?" Zephyr asks him quietly as he glances over at the host for the Games being prepped for the final eight interviews. Laelia talks animatedly to her as she points at info on the tablet, providing her info on the people she'll be talking to today.

"Yes, but I feel better knowing she's with someone I trust," Seraphim tells him, taking his hand and bringing his attention back to him. "Please, Zephyr. For me. Also for Laelia."

"Oh well if it's for Laelia, of course," Zephyr answers with a grin, making Seraphim shake his head at his boyfriend. Zephyr chuckles as he leans over to give Seraphim a quick kiss. "I'll do it for you, of course. Just promise me you'll be safe."

"I think you mean _you_ promise _me_ you'll be safe," Seraphim says quickly and raises an eyebrow at Zephyr. "You're the one heading out into the Districts when there's a brewing rebel threat."

"I'm also the one with years of training and who knows how to defend himself, plus has grown up in the Districts," Zephyr counters, making Seraphim sigh at his logic. "But yes, I promise you, we will be safe. No one will even think about hurting her."

"Or _you_ ," Seraphim adds as Laelia and Kora start walking over to them. He gives Zephyr one last look, making sure he understands that Seraphim is being serious about him staying safe, before turning to face the young host. He clasps his hands in front of him and grins at Kora, "So, final eight interviews! I assume Laelia has told you who you'll be interviewing."

"She has," Kora answers and waves the tablet at her. "Some…interesting names on here."

"Yes, well, that's what happens when there's notable romantic interests," Seraphim shrugs at this. "Now you don't need to rush today. I've locked all the doors to keep the tributes in their rooms and also put up a barricade keeping Delta and Anastacia above ground since Demarcus isn't exactly moving anytime soon."

"Gee thanks," Kora answers sarcastically, but grows serious once more. "Anything else?"

"Yes, Zephyr is going to go with as your own sort of personal guard."

"Zephyr?" Kora asks in confusion and looks over at the victor, who nods his head in agreement, before she turns back to Seraphim. "We're going to District Two," Kora tells Seraphim, who just gives her a look of that being obvious. "Specifically the Victors Village of Two…"

"Yeah, so?" Seraphim asks, not seeing the point Kora is trying to make here. "Zephyr lives there."

"Don't you think it's a little awkward to bring Zephyr with me to Misha's house? You know, the one who has very publicly called Jory a father figure to him?"

"It will be fine," Seraphim answers her before looking over at Zephyr in concern. "Right? Everything will be fine?"

"I'll behave, no guarantees on Jory," Zephyr tells them with a shrug.

"Kora, District Two is the last place you need to be concerned about traveling to today," Seraphim reassures her. "If you were me, well, that would be a different story."

"Okay," Kora agrees slowly, clearly not believing this. She looks back down at the list on her tablet and sighs, "I'm just glad we're not going back to Seven this year."

"So am I," Seraphim answers honestly. If there was still a tribute left in Seven…he probably wouldn't have sent her there. "One and Two are as safe as can be. Four should be fine… Then you'll be in one of the nicest areas of Five. You're going to an isolated area of Ten so I would be surprised if you see many people. And then Six, well, the people that would be a concern have been apprehended. So I don't foresee there being any issues this year."

At least…he hopes there won't be.

* * *

 _Kora Flickerman, Host of The Hunger Games_

The first stop on today's interview schedule is one Kora knows will be interesting from the recent drama that went down in the career pack: District One. She's really itching to know what Major's parents thought of his death, but she will settle for Anastacia's parents.

And at least there's no rebel threat in District One.

Deidre and Ignatius Astoria welcome Kora into their home with a bit of trepidation, catching Kora a little off guard as typically the families here are ecstatic to be interviewed and see their child reach this point. And given Anastacia's current position, she would expect more excitement.

They're soon settled in and ready to go, with only minimal confused looks at Zephyr being there, and Kora is ready to start a long day of interviews – thankfully with no fear that she has to rush to do them before another death. "Good afternoon, Panem! I'm your host Kora Flickerman and it is time already to kick off the interviews of the families and friends of our final eight tributes in the Sixth Quarter Quell! We are here in District One with the parents of Anastacia Astoria to kick things off! So to start, what do you think about Anastacia's decision to willingly participate in this Quarter Quell with that twist?"

Deidre shares a nervous look with her husband as she grabs onto the curious looking pendant and starts moving it around on the chain around her neck. Kora tilts her head at the action and Deidre clears her throat and drops her hand as she notices, "Well…she's our baby girl so obviously we're very worried for her."

"We're proud of her, of course," Ignatius adds on quickly, even if he doesn't quite sound like it. "Right dear?"

"Yes…" Deidre answers slowly, nodding her head to try and convince Kora. "Just anything but losing her sight would have been better. That's the worst sense she could have lost with her hearing damage."

"Hearing damage?" Kora prompts, getting a nod from Anastacia's father.

"Yes, someone in training tried to take her out of the running by damaging her hearing," Ignatius confirms. "But there's not much that could have stopped her."

"Anastacia seems to have a very good motivation for winning," Kora brings up. "Her friend Pad…did you know them?"

"Of course," Ignatius says with a small laugh. "Those two were inseparable growing up. Their death…nearly broke her, but she's strong and when she sets her mind to something…good luck trying to get her to stop."

"We certainly tried," Deidre mutters on her breath, making Kora raise an eyebrow at her to prompt her for more explanation, but Anastacia's mother stay quiet.

"She certainly seems driven," Kora points out. "She's made it to the final eight and she's part of the only alliance left. She has full supplies and minimal injuries, especially compared to some of her former allies. I'd say she has fairly good odds at this point."

Deidre and Ignatius share another look with each other before turning back to Kora. "She would have better odds with her sight," Deidre tells the host.

"True," Kora agrees before shifting the topic. "Now Anastacia was part of one of the most talked about events of this year's Games so far: the death of Major. What do you think about her not only killing her District partner, but the way they killed him?"

"Anastacia knows better than to kill someone like that with no reason," Deidre says, seemingly trying to convince herself that Anastacia had a reason for the brutal death. "She wouldn't have done that unless Major deserved it."

"And if he really did have some sort of involvement in Pad's death…" Ignatius shakes his head at the young host. "Pad was a good kid and Anastacia's closest friend. If Major hurt them in any way, then…I'm not really surprised at Anastacia killing him that way."

"Pad's death has been the thing fueling her all these years on this crazy mission on hers," Deidre adds, shaking her head at her daughter's actions. "I've been worried she would burn herself out before ever reaching her goals. She still might…"

Kora presses her lips together at this, not sure how to answer that since she's so used to families in One being fully supportive of their children. But luckily for her, she's getting the signal to wrap up the interview. "Well we are just about out of time here. If you could say anything to Anastacia right now, what would you tell her?"

"Hang in there, baby girl," Deidre tells the camera, her eyes even watering up a little bit. "We love you so please…don't let your anger burn you out."

Ignatius nods his head at his wife's statement. "Deidre said it perfectly."

"Excellent," Kora says as she clasps her hands together. "Thank you, Deidre and Ignatius for taking the time to let me interview you today. Next up, District Two!"

* * *

Kora knows District Two is going to prove to have one of the more interesting set of interviews, especially after everything that has happened in the last two days of the arena. And with Odyssey's recent downward spiral, Kora is curious what his family thinks.

Five women sit in front of her and Kora can only imagine what growing up was like for Odyssey as the only boy in the household and part of her is a little jealous of his large family. Some of them share a close resemblance to him – his older sister Laurentina, especially his mother Diana – while his younger sisters Calypso and Penelope share dark brown hair and only some similar features to their brother, but despite that, they are all very clearly related to Odyssey. The oldest sits nervously, a faint blush on her cheeks, while the younger two sit quietly talking together, both looking unsure about all of this. And then there's Julia, Diana's wife, who lovingly greeted Kora at the door and welcomed the host right in.

"We're back, now in District Two with the family of Odyssey Gunderson!" Kora says cheerfully to the cameras. "We have Diana Gunderson, her wife Julia, and the three sisters of Odyssey: Laurentina, Calypso, and Penelope! Now Odyssey made quite a splash in the Capitol when I met him, or rather, when I met Venus."

"That's Odyssey for you," Diana answers, smiling as she shakes her head. "I'm sure he did everything he could to be interviewed as Venus."

"That he did," Kora says with a laugh. "Quite the dream he has there. What do you think about his ambitions to be a drag queen?"

"We all support him," Diana tells the host and the others give various levels of agreement. "I have always urged my children to do what they are passionate about and doing drag is his biggest passion. It makes him happy which is all that mattered. Now as his mother…of course I wish he would have thought things through better and maybe found something that could be a more stable career."

"Well he's making it a career through this," Laurentina points out to her mother before looking at Kora and flushing a bit. "I love his drag performances, except when he steals my clothes without asking."

"It's-"

"So much fun!" Penelope cuts off Calypso, ignoring the little glare her sister gives her. "We always go to his shows hosted by Misha, but Mom always makes me leave early, even though I'm totally old enough to stay later."

"Misha, huh?" Kora asks, wiggling her eyebrows a little at the mention of the victor and Odyssey's apparent love interest. "So how long has there been a thing between them?"

"This is brand new information for us too. Odyssey has some explaining to do when he gets home," Diana says stubbornly. "I'm disappointed that he never told me before."

"Chill, Mom, he didn't even tell me," Laurentina laughs at her mother pouting. "Don't worry, Misha's a good guy and worthy of Odyssey."

"I am sure, but doesn't change the fact that he could have told us," Diana continues, shaking her head at her son's secret. "When he gets home, he's introducing Misha to us right away."

"And he will," Julia reassures her wife, speaking up for the first time, seemingly comfortable to sit back and let Diana and her daughters handle the questions.

At the mention of Odyssey coming home from the Games, Kora grows serious to change the focus of the interview. "Now the Games have been quite the tumultuous ride for Odyssey. First the Trial by Combat, then Major's death and his own injury, and now his emotional breakdown… What do you all think about what he's done?"

"He's hurting and I don't blame him… What I said before still stands," Diana says resolutely. "We all still support him. _Right_ , girls?"

At Diana's tone and the look she gives them, Odyssey's sisters all nod their heads at various paces. Laurentina agrees right away, then Penny after a few seconds, and Calypso needs a subtle elbow from Diana to finally agree. "Of course we still support him," Laurentina speaks up, still struggling to meet Kora's gaze. "He's our brother and we love him. I just…we want to see him back home."

"And he will get back home," Diana adds on, reassure herself and her daughters. Penelope sniffles at this and Julia quickly puts an arm around the youngest to comfort her. "And we'll keep supporting him then, just as we always have and always will."

"I think that's a perfect place to end this interview," Kora tells Odyssey's family, smiling at all of them. "And now it is time for us to go interview someone else for Odyssey!"

* * *

Being in the Victor's Village is a bit of a weird feeling for Kora as she still is getting used to not seeing them as Panem's celebrities and just normal people with how new she is to being the host for the Games. But there's one victor who is definitely her favorite – her first one – and that's who's house they're walking up to.

But the person to open the door when they're halfway up the driveway is not Misha and brings Zephyr to a stop. Kora looks back at him, watching him stare over at Jory, before shaking his head and continuing to walk towards his ex. "I knew I should have placed bets on you being here."

"Of course I'm here, you know what he means to me. No way would I leave him alone right now," Jory tells them as they approach, no hint of joking in his voice. As they get closer, Kora can see the heavy bags under his eyes and he fights to hold back a yawn. "But what are you doing here? Coming to give your old District trade secrets about the rest of the Games?"

"Shut up, Jory," Zephyr answers with a roll of his eyes, but he's fighting off a smile. "Seraphim asked me to go with Kora. That's all."

"Seraphim, huh?" Jory says, wiggling his eyebrows and laughing as Zephyr shoves him out of the way so they can get in the house for the interview. "You know I'm kidding and happy to see you happy."

Kora hesitates for a moment, weirded out by the exchange between them but soon shakes her head and goes into the house, following Jory and Zephyr playfully bickering to the living room where Misha waits. Kora smiles when she sees him, trying not to let it falter when she sees how rough shape he's in. He doesn't look like he's slept at all really since the Games started and his eyes are red from recently crying. "There's my favorite victor!"

"Hey!" Zephyr and Jory both cry out, but Kora just rolls her eyes at them.

She at least got Misha to crack a smile as he stands up and she gives him a hug. "Hey Kora…"

"Hey Misha, hanging in there?" Kora asks as she steps back, watching him give a half-hearted nod. She gently pats his shoulder to comfort him before they take their seats as the crew frantically gets things ready around them. "Just a few questions, okay? And…you're going to be okay talking about him, right?"

"Yeah," Misha says, his voice shaking as he tries to sit up and straighten out his messy hair. "He needs me so I can be strong for him."

"Very well," Kora says as she gets the signal they're ready to start, and forces her best cheery smile on as concern fills her over the current state of her first victor. "We're still here in Two with a special treat, one of our victors, Misha Harrington! Now we've seen the conversations and that recent sponsor gift and we're all curious what's going on here. So Misha, how do you know Odyssey?"

"From training, of course," Misha answers her right away with a smile. "And the drag shows."

"Yes, Odyssey's family mentioned the drag shows you host," Kora comments, making Misha look a bit curious about what else Odyssey's family might have said about him. "All good things, don't worry. They were just surprised to find out about you, so when did things start between you two?"

"Do you want the answer of when feelings started or when they were finally admitted?" Misha says with a laugh, making Kora curious.

"Both, why not?"

"Well I can only speak for my own feelings, but…a while now," Misha says quietly as the smile fades from his face. "They weren't admitted until at the party so…who knows how things could have been different if I would have said something sooner…"

"The past can't be changed and Odyssey has shown he is fighting with everything he has in the Games. Now you have been through the Games before…" Kora starts slowly, cautious to be gentle when discussing the Games with him. "You know better than most of us what tributes go through in the arena. What do you think about what's been happening to Odyssey and his shot at winning?"

Misha shakes his head at her as he blinks a few times. He finally lets out a sigh before answering her, "I know he can win. I _have_ to keep believing he will win. But what he's going through…well, I'm going to be right there for him when he gets out of the arena."

"Well said, Misha," Kora answers, wanting to reach over and give some comfort to him, but knowing she needs to stay as unbiased as possible in the interviews. "That's all we have time for here so that wraps up our interviews for Odyssey Gunderson! Next up, District Four for our only District pair remaining!"

* * *

The atmosphere in the Pollock household is a sharp change from the welcome Kora received at the Gunderson household, putting her on edge and feeling anxious to get out of there quickly. While the previous two families had been welcoming, this family feels like they resent her presence and Kora finds herself glad to have Zephyr just a few feet away from her and out of sight of the cameras. She doubts that a bunch of teenagers can do much, but just look at what a bunch of teenagers have been doing in the Games.

Gathered in front of her in the living room sits most of Demarcus' family he's discussed winning for. His mother Brilla sits in the lone armchair, hand over her face as she slouches into the chair, unable to bring herself to put on a cheery face. She's forced her remaining children to squeeze onto the couch. The oldest, Marshall, sits straight and is focused on Kora, so the host is definitely going to direct most of her questions to him. The two twin girls, Rosemary and Samara, talk quietly to each other, ignoring their two younger brothers Marvin and Mark next to them as Marvin tries to take the toy from the youngest, making him start to have a fit. Kora's already been told that their father won't be joining, too paranoid about the Capitolite crew coming into their house.

"All of you, shut it!" Marshall yells at his siblings, getting them to stop instantly and they all look over at him. "Everyone stay quiet unless she asks you a direct question and just let me handle this like I handle everything in this family."

Kora clears her throat and gives them an uneasy smile, not at all liking this sibling dynamic. Maybe she is happy being an only child. "Thank you… So, uh, we are now here in District Four with the family of Demarcus Pollock! So he's the oldest sibling of six of you? That's a big family."

"Yep, and instead of staying home and being responsible and helping us out, he's off getting himself killed," Marshall responds bitterly, crossing his arms at the thought of his older brother.

"My baby boy," Brilla says quietly, moving her hand for a moment to look at Kora. "I can't lose my baby boy."

"We don't know for sure what will happen to him," Kora tries to pick up the mood, but she can see she's failing. "He did make it to the final eight, after all!"

"Sure, but he also has a concussion," Marshall starts, holding up his hand to count on his fingers. "He's also blind, and has no allies. So yeah, I'd say he probably should have just stayed home."

"But he has training," Rosemary speaks up, instantly getting a scowl from Marshall.

Samara nods her head next to her twin, continuing for her, "So shut up, you dingus. He's going to win."

"You shut up and let me give this interview so it's not a disaster!" Marshall yells back at them, making Rosemary stick out her tongue at her brother. The youngest two start fidgeting and Kora starts getting worried that this interview is going to go completely off the rails if she doesn't get it under control soon. "Look, you can clearly see how many of us there are. Instead of being responsible and staying here in Four and finding a good paying job to help support us, he went off and risked his life on a 1 in 22 chance of getting out of there alive. He left _me_ to work my ass off to support this family when he's the oldest and should be doing this. You don't think I'd like to have my own life? Get a job I actually like, not just whatever pays well because no one else wants to do it? He gets to do what he wants and he doesn't realize the consequences of those actions on his family!"

"I really wouldn't count him out yet," Kora tries to tell them, but she knows the interview is lost. Still, she tries her best to turn the interview around for Demarcus' sake. "Tributes have won with worse conditions before and without training. He got out safely from the career pack meltdown, which I think is quite the achievement. So I think you should have more hope for your older brother."

"Easy for you to say when you don't know him," Marshall mutters, shaking his head at the host.

"Well unfortunately, that's all the time we have," Kora says quickly when Marshall opens his mouth to keep talking. "That's a wrap on our interview with Demarcus Pollock's family!" Kora tells the cameras before they cut. She stands up, waiting for their next move across the District.

"Hey Kora, we just got word that Zale refuses to be interviewed."

Kora looks over at the head of the crew, confused for a moment. "Like Delta Zale's family or Demarcus' friend Zale?"

"The friend Zale."

"Ah…" Kora says quietly as they step outside to head towards Delta's home. "He was the one that confessed feelings in the goodbye room. Maybe he could have made a better impression for Demarcus, but I guess we won't know. Oh well…not much to do but move on then."

* * *

The next house Kora travels to is much quieter than the previous, but it's a somber silence lingering over the place. Delta Zale doesn't have a large family, just her mother, who's done her best to welcome them, but still seems so nervous and broken. Since they only have two people to interview for Delta, the other person, Delta's personal trainer, has been brought here to save them time travelling to his house. The two aren't talking, just waiting around in awkward silence as the crew prepares for their interviews.

Kora takes her place and puts on a smile, ignoring the awkwardness lingering in the house. After all, it's her job to do this. "We're still in District Four for our second set of interviews, this time for Delta Zale! First up, we have Delta's mother, Coral Zale!" Coral tries to give a small smile at this, but clearly struggles. "So it's just you and Delta?" Kora asks Coral, who nods her head a little. "Do you two have a good relationship?"

"I try to, but…" Coral shakes her head, giving her answer. "After her father's…accident…at work, well…she's blamed me for it. And I deserve the blame."

"But if it was an accident at work, surely it wasn't your fault," Kora tells her, confused on what could have happened. "Unless, of course, you worked at the same place. Even then, if it was an accident, you're not to blame."

"It just is my fault," Coral reassures Kora, growing more upset with each passing minute. "She's right to blame me and I can't be mad at her for it. I just…wish she didn't go on such a crazy mission by volunteering."

"I wouldn't call it crazy," Kora points out. "She's doing very well right now. I'd say probably the best of all the remaining tributes right now. She has both her sight and hearing, no major injuries right now, supplies, and she's the only one with an ally. Seems to me like she's on track to win."

"I hope so…" Coral answers the host and shrugs a little. "But I doubt if she wins she'll want anything to do with me, and I don't blame her… It's my fault," Coral whispers quietly, wrapping her arms around herself as she refuses to meet Kora's gaze. She shakes her head, "I know it is. All of this."

"I don't think that's true," Kora tells her. "Delta has been shown to have quite the…personality. Seems like once she sets her mind to something, there's very little that will stop her. After all, she is the only seventeen year old of the careers this year. That says a lot. In fact," Kora pauses, knowing this interview with Delta's mother isn't going anywhere and having the perfect transition, "We have Delta's personal trainer here to interview as well! Let's bring out Sebastian Janikowski!"

Kora waits patiently as the crew directs Delta's mother to the side and brings in Delta's personal trainer. The man takes his spot and seems in a much better mood than Coral was about being interviewed, which is a relief to Kora. After Coral and the Pollock family, she'd really appreciate an easy interview. "So Sebastian, how did you come about being Delta's personal trainer?"

"Great question, Kora," Sebastian answers as he crosses his legs and leans back, projecting confidence that should reflect on Delta from him being her trainer. Smart man. "Delta has such fierce determination to win the Hunger Games that she set a new record for the biggest placements jumped between assessments of anyone in District Four. When the victors saw that, they knew we needed to hone Delta's potential, and so I was assigned to work with her."

"And I would say you succeeded there."

"Yes," Sebastian says with a laugh. "I agree with you."

"Now, we are a little curious," Kora starts and he tilts his head a little in anticipation of her question. "Why have her volunteer at seventeen and not wait one more year and train with her in that time?"

"I don't make the personal recommendations and choices for volunteers," Sebastian says with a shrug, but Kora can see how he has tensed up at this. "Personally, I wanted to work with her an extra year, but fully support the victors' decision to send her in now. Clearly the decision has worked out well."

"Yes, no one can deny that," Kora agrees with him. "So would you say you know Delta well?" Kora asks and Sebastian nods his head. "What do you think of her decision to leave Demarcus to stay with Anastacia?"

"I…" Sebastian hesitates and Kora raises an eyebrow as she waits for him to answer. "I think…she understands that in the end, it can't be both of them. And by staying separate, she's reducing the possibility of something targeting the pair together and taking out both of Four's shot at victory. I mean, just look at what happened to District Two because they were so close."

"Interesting," Kora answers, noting how he didn't mention anything about Anastacia, but choosing to not bring it up. After all, they're just about out of time. "Well I think that's all we have time for so thank you, Sebastian, for your time!"

Kora turns to face the cameras, smiling over at them, "That has been the first half of our final eight interviews! We will return soon after this short break, starting off in District Five!"

* * *

 **There we have our first half of the final eight interviews! I decided to split them up once I realized it would split into careers vs non-careers nicely. Thoughts on this first group? Anything stick out for anyone? And yeah, I'm keeping them short but proportional to how many people there are per tribute - some just have more people to interview and I am not going to drag out a certain interview for the sake of hitting a word count.**

 **Hopefully the second half will be up soon! I'm trying to plow through these quickly because interviews always get repetitive to write and to read XD**

 **There's a new poll up on my profile! Still asking who you think will be victor, but final 8 version since things have changed quite a bit since the last poll at the start of the Games. Also just a reminder that the sense items are still discounted!**

 **See you all soon!**


	42. Final Eight Interviews Part 2

**Chapter 38:**

 _Kora Flickerman, Host of The Hunger Games_

Kora looks around the modern, but quite frankly bland looking house of the Emmerich family as the crew finishes setting up, while Davy's family gathers in the living room. The patriarch of the family, Bohr, sits back in his own chair, face cold as he stares intently at his children as his wife Lita frets about, making sure all of them look good for the cameras. The eldest child, Amedeo, has been giving Kora flirty looks since she arrived, despite the wedding ring on his hand, making Kora narrow her eyes at him before turning away. The other two siblings, Radon and Selene, talk quietly to each other as Selene slaps her mother's hand away as she tries to fix her hair, making her twin brother laugh at her.

Two of Davy's friends are also nearby, brought to do their interviews here together to save on time. One of them is someone Kora is quite curious about, considering his eldest brother is there with him. But especially as the young red head walks over to her, looking nervous as he clears his throat. "Hi, Miss Kora, can I…uh…talk to you for a minute?"

"Sure," Kora answers Leandro as she looks over at the crew, making sure they have time. They take a step away from the crew and Davy's family, and Kora gives him an encouraging smile, seeing how nervous he looks – in addition to sleep deprived and immensely stressed. "What's up?"

"Well, about Davy…" Leandro starts nervously, quickly looking away as his eyes begin to water. He glances over at Davy's family as Lita gives up fixing her children's appearances and takes her seat. "They…don't know…about us."

Kora follows his gaze over to his family, noticing the curious looks they have been giving the victor's son. "They don't…oh. I see."

"Please don't say anything about us," Leandro quickly pleads with her and Kora turns back, finding the young boy staring up at her with desperate eyes. "Don't out him like this."

"Of course I won't," Kora answers him softly, glancing back over at Bohr's calculating eyes as he watches his children, just getting the vibe from him that he is judging everything they do. "If Davy hasn't told them yet, it's not my place. I'll leave that to him, should he win."

"Thank you," Leandro answers with a sigh of relief as Kora is called over by the crew to begin the interview with Davy's family. She nods her head in response to Leandro before heading over to the family, sitting across from them and feeling a bit more closed off to them than she was initially now that she knows they might not approve of Davy if they knew about him and Leandro.

But she has been working on her acting, so she puts on a bright smile as she faces Davy's family, ready to start the interview. "We are now in District Five with the family of Davy Emmerich! Now Davy has been doing quite well for himself in the arena-"

"Well?" Bohr interrupts her, a bit of disdain in his eyes as he looks at her, seemingly judging her. Kora's smile falters a bit, before coming completely fake as she looks back at him, only making his sneer grow. "He's been spending most of the time whimpering in fear."

"Bohr, that's not true," Lita says to him, defending their youngest child. "He's doing his very best."

"Yeah Dad, he's the youngest left," Radon adds on, looking proud of his brother. "That says something to make it this far."

"Yes, the youngest with a bunch of seventeen and eighteen year olds," Bohr mutters under his breath, making Lita shake her head at him. "Great odds there."

Kora can see the interview going south quickly and steps in, always hating to see families not having faith in their tribute. "Davy is the only outer District tribute to make a kill so far," Kora points out to them and she can tell from Bohr's face he doesn't have an immediate argument there. "And at fourteen, no less. I wouldn't let his age take him out of the running yet."

The family is quiet at this statement, varying levels of support showing on their faces, and it's clear not all of them believe that Davy has what it takes to win – like his sister Selene – but are doing their best to be supportive. Except for Bohr. He's just being a pessimistic asshole. "A kill that the Gamemakers basically gave to him," Bohr comments with a shrug.

"But it is good to have the support of the Gamemakers," Kora tells him, but she's not getting through. "In fact, Davy has had a lot of support from his mentor. What do you think of all the support Letha has given him in the form of sponsor gifts?"

A few of them glance over to the side where Letha's son waits as Lita answers Kora, her eyes watering up, "I'm so glad he has such a supportive mentor who is doing everything she can to help him out. So thank you, Letha, for helping my little boy."

Kora smiles at this comment, not at all surprised to see Letha doing her all for Davy, regardless of him maybe in a relationship with one of her sons. "Now we're almost out of time so is there anything you would say to Davy right now if you could?"

"Keep fighting, Davy," Lita speaks up first, wiping under her eyes at tears threatening to fall. "I know you can do it."

Amedeo is the next to speak up, making sure to give Kora a flirty grin that has Radon and Selene rolling their eyes at him. "Yeah little bro, keep fighting there. They got nothing on you."

"We're all still supporting you," Radon says quietly, looking over at Selene who slowly nods her head in agreement.

Bohr is the only one to not make any acknowledgement of the question and when Lita elbows him, he lets out a sigh of annoyance and finally speaks up, "Man up already and actually try to win, not just count on others to get you through."

"Well that's all the time we have for our interview with the Emmerich family," Kora really has to force herself to keep smiling at that comment from Bohr, but thankfully she's done interviewing Davy's family. The crew quickly moves in Griffin and Leandro for their interview. Leandro gives her a pleading look before they start, no doubt silently pleading for her to do what he asked her. And of course she will. No one could ever make her bring up information that would hurt a tribute in an interview for the sake of entertainment. "Alright next we have Davy's friends, Griffin and Leandro! So how do you two know Davy?"

"Davy's been my best friend for years now," Griffin answers first, clearly feeling a bit more confident than Leandro. Or maybe just not as worried since he doesn't have romantic feelings like Leandro. "Taught him everything he knows."

Leandro cracks a small smile at Griffin's joking around, but it doesn't last long as Kora turns her attention towards him. "We go to school together…" Leandro starts softly as he glances nervously over at Davy's family. "And do some club stuff together."

"Very nice!" Kora says to the boys, giving them an encouraging smile. "So would you say you know him very well then?"

"Better than anyone else," Griffin answers her while Leandro gives a nervous nod.

"Then as his closest _friends_ ," Kora starts, emphasizing friends and getting a small appreciative look from Leandro, "What do you think of how he's doing in the arena?"

"He's kicking ass!" Griffin says with a laugh, making Leandro shake his head next to him.

"He's…" Leandro starts, but quickly cuts off as his tears start falling down his cheeks. "I-I'm scared for him, but…but he's being brave."

"He certainly is," Kora says gently, trying to reassure Leandro as he is handed some tissues from Lita. "And he has full support of your mother, Letha."

"She's doing everything she can to get him home," Leandro tells Kora before pausing to blow his nose and Kora only cringes a little bit. "I made her promise she would…"

"I'm sure she will," Kora tells him, but can see in their faces that they don't fully believe that. "Now we're just about out of time, so anything you would like to say to Davy?"

Griffin gives a shrug before answering her, "Just keep doing your best."

Leandro takes longer to answer, trying his best to form words, and Kora understands why. He can't just say everything he wants to with Davy's family watching. "Just…please get home safe."

Kora nods her head at this before turning to the camera, "That wraps up our interview with the family and friends of Davy Emmerich! Next up, District Six!"

* * *

Kora was not prepared for the sharp change in tone going from the wealthy Emmerich home in Five to Six where she wasn't even taken to where Elias lives, but rather to the Justice Building. She's only been told bits and pieces of what is happening in the investigation into Elias' family – the minimum to get through this interview. An interview with only one person as the entire Pilkvist family is being held while the investigation is ongoing.

Cecy Falk sits across from Kora in one of the meeting rooms of the Justice Building, fiddling with the pair of goggles hanging around her neck and looking out of place in all of this finery. She had been brought in to be questioned as well to ensure Elias told the truth about her and now is staying there temporarily until they have determined if Elias' family may retaliate against her or not.

Kora clears her throat, bringing Cecy's focus onto the host and Kora smiles at her, ready to get this interview started. "We're here in District Six to kick off our next interview, starting with Elias' friend, Cecy Falk!" Cecy gives a nervous smile as she nods her head in greeting, again fiddling with the goggles around her neck. "So Cecy, why don't we start off with you telling us how you met Elias?"

"I found him wandering the streets on his own, abandoned by his family after the Reaping one year," Cecy starts, frowning as she retells the time they met. "He looked so lost and was bleeding from his prostheses… I had to help him fix the prostheses at least. After that, he just sort of stuck around and we've been making life work since then, finding work where we can."

Kora frowns at the new knowledge regarding Elias' parents, questioning how someone could ever just abandon their child like that. "They just left him…?"

Cecy nods her head, a bit of anger flaring up in her eyes. "Yep, just left him behind after years of abusing him and forcing him to fight and train, not giving him a proper education, all while slipping by unnoticed. They disgust me. But Elias is safe from them now and has been for two years. Except…"

"Except now he's in the Games fighting for his life," Kora prompts and Cecy nods her head. "Well he's clearly doing well for himself, earning the highest score outside of the careers. He even fought back and got away safely from two careers. And of course, he's made it to the final eight now. So I would say the fighting skills he was taught have been helping, even if the situation is awful…"

"Don't give them credit for what he's done," Cecy says quickly, brief bit of anger in her voice as she thinks about his parents. "They're not the only reason he can fight. He's doing this himself." Kora raises an eyebrow at the comment about fighting, making Cecy clearly hesitate with her response before letting out a sigh, "Elias doesn't like fighting…he doesn't like hurting people at all so I understand what he's going through… But he will do what is necessary to win. I'm sure Dampero told him what he needs to do."

"Dampero certainly is an experienced mentor, so Elias is in good hands," Kora comments as she keeps thinking about something curious Cecy said. "Now you mentioned finding work. What exactly is that kind of work?"

Cecy starts fiddling with her hands and looking away from Kora, debating her answer for a long time. When she finally meets Kora's gaze, she just gives a small shrug, "Odd jobs here and there, anything that would give a little bit of money."

They both know there's clearly more to this and Cecy isn't saying more for some reason. But Kora doesn't push her, seeing the pleading look in her eyes. "Well I think we're just about time so anything you'd like to say to Elias right now?"

Cecy turns to the camera, sitting up taller and looking stubborn as she points at the camera. "Elias, you have to fight and do everything you can to get out of that arena alive. You can fight…just do it. You've gone through hell already and deserve to be happy after this is done."

"Well said, Cecy! That wraps up our interview for Elias and-"

Kora is cut off by the crew signaling to her and she looks over to see a new woman standing there, looking around nervously. "We have a…uh… work representative that insists on being interviewed."

Kora tilts her head in curiosity and confusion, before nodding her head and gesturing to the couch in front of her. "Very well, it won't hurt to have another interview for Elias."

Cecy stands up hesitantly, staring at the woman nervously before stepping aside and letting her replace her on the couch. Meanwhile, Zephyr steps closer to Kora, clearly not trusting this new person and Kora is glad to have him nearby. She doesn't like unexpected things during her interviews. The woman sits tense with her back straight, hands folded on her lap as she stares at Kora with a neutral expression. "What's your name?"

"I prefer not to say who I am," the woman says as she adjusts her hat, tucking a loose piece of hair back before rubbing her nose under her pair of glasses.

"Very well," Kora says before putting a smile back on for this interview. "Now we have one more person who is a…work representative…for Elias."

The woman nods her head once at this. "I am speaking on behalf of the Faceless Man who runs a fighting ring where Elias is his champion. As Elias' benefactor, he wants to make the skills of his champion clear to all of Panem."

"I…" Kora hesitates, very confused about all of this, before just gesturing for the woman to go ahead.

"Elias Pilkvist is one of the best fighters in District Six," the woman starts, keeping her tone neutral. "To be personally chosen to be the champion of the Faceless Man is a great honor and speaks volumes about his fighting capability. He is not to be underestimated in that arena and can match any of the careers in a fight. That is all."

Kora doesn't quite know what to say about this and just keeps smiling at the unknown woman. "Very well. Thank you for that…very interesting development regarding Elias." The woman nods her head once more and Kora turns to the camera, hoping this truly is the last of the interviews for Elias. " _Now_ we are done with speaking to people that know Elias Pilkvist and we will be staying in District Six for our next interview!"

* * *

It's a bit of an odd situation to be interviewing a family in Six for a tribute representing Three this year, but at least they were already traveling to Six for a different interview. Kora is unsure what reaction to expect from Amelia's parents, given the fact that Aero was just in the Games last year and a bit worried that they'll take it out on her. Not that it was her fault, but she is one of the faces of the Games…

But Amelia's parents had no issue welcoming Kora into their home filled with many pictures of Amelia and certificates of her accomplishments. One catches her interest as she recognizes the background as the Capitol. But as she looks around, a frown tugs at the corner of her lips when she sees how few pictures of Aero are in the room, and the ones with him all have Amelia in them.

Kora quickly gets her smile back on when given the signal to start, and the Fensa family is all smiles. "So we are still here in District Six for a bit of a unique situation with the parents of Amelia Fensa: Kew and Saira! Now obviously the unique situation is Amelia being reaped in District Three, not District Six. What do you think about Amelia being part of the prestigious first country wide university program?"

"Oh it's no surprise at all that Amelia was selected," Saira praises Amelia immediately. "She's always been top of her class and has won many design competitions."

"I taught her everything she knows," Kew adds on to the praise, sitting up a bit proudly. "She wouldn't have accomplished the things she has without me."

"Yes, I've noticed you have quite a few certificates and pictures up of Amelia," Kora brings up, looking around the living room. Kew gets a proud smile as he follows Kora's gaze. "One caught my eye because it seems like District Three wasn't the first time Amelia traveled outside of Six."

Saira follows Kora's gaze and gets up to grab the picture frame. She gently hands it to Kora, smiling at the picture of Amelia proudly holding a trophy in the Capitol. "Her first Capitol engineering design competition. She took home first place that day. We're so proud of her and what she's accomplished. Especially now being hand selected by the President to attend university in Three. We've always known she's destined to do great things."

"The Games have thrown a bit of a wrench in those plans," Kew says, making his wife start frowning immediately and looking on the verge of tears. "But we have no doubt she can make it out as victor."

"I can imagine it must be difficult watching these Games," Kora says gently, trying not to make Saira start sobbing in the middle of the interview. "After just losing Aero last year in the Games…"

There's a visible shift in their mood at the mention of Aero and Kora is ready to back off and quickly change the subject, but Kew speaks up as Saira wipes away a tear that Kora is pretty sure isn't real, "Aero didn't…have quite the same skills as Amelia does, so we're sure she'll continue to do better than he did. She's already making smarter choices by not trusting anyone else in the arena, which was Aero's mistake."

"Amelia was so upset by his death," Saira tells Kora, continuing to feign being upset. "It broke my heart seeing her so sad after losing him."

"Were the two of them close?" Kora asks, not as enthusiastic about this interview anymore after seeing their attitude towards their son they lost just a year ago.

Kew nods his head at this, even though he doesn't look that happy. "Yes, they were very close. I think Aero was trying to gain some intelligence by spending time with her."

"Well that's about all we have time for," Kora says quickly, cutting them off from talking negatively about Aero any longer. "Anything you would like to say to Amelia?"

"Keep being brave, dear," Saira says with actual tears this time.

"You're smarter than the rest of the tributes," Kew adds and Saira nods her head in agreement. "So just keep remembering everything I taught you."

"Very well," Kora says as she faces the cameras, forcing a smile. "We have one more interview left so it is time to head to District Ten!"

* * *

Compared to the loud bustle of District Six, Ten is just so…boring would be the best way Kora would describe it. Maybe some people like the fresh air and open sky, but Kora's a city girl. And the _smell_. Luckily Kora won't be spending too much time on the Durham family farm before she's back to the Capitol.

But she will say that Fox's family has had the best hospitality of all the people she's interviewed today. They immediately offered the crew drinks and snacks, even though it doesn't look like they could afford to share that much. Kora tried to refuse – while Zephyr ate quite a large amount himself – but when they started to look offended by her, she quickly took the offered food. She knows better than to upset an already upset pregnant person.

Paloma sits on the old torn up couch, dark circles under her eyes as she watches Maddox run around the room talking to all of the crew members. She keeps a hand on her stomach, looking quite far along. But really she just looks completely exhausted by everything going on right now. "Maddox, come here," she calls out to him as the little boy stops in front of Kora, looking up at her with wide eyes.

"Hi!" Maddox says cheerfully and Kora leans over to be closer to his height. "I saw you with Daddy!"

"You did?" Kora asks him, smiling at the little boy's infectious good mood. "Well we're going to talk about your father."

Maddox's eyes light up for a moment before he starts pouting, looking on the verge of tears. "I miss Daddy."

"Maddox, come here," Paloma says once more, her voice getting harsh as she takes a shaky breath and puts a hand over her eyes for a moment. When she looks over again at the sound of Maddox coming over to her, Kora can see tears in her eyes. "Maddox, please don't speak up during this. Now can we please start already? This is very hard for me."

"Of course," Kora answers, giving the woman a comforting smile as Maddox climbs up onto the couch next to her, nearly falling back until Paloma reaches out and helps him up. She holds him close to her and Kora starts to notice how much he looks like her. Kora turns to the camera, ready to start and be done with the interviews. "We are here in District Ten for our final interview for the Sixth Quarter Quell! Here we have Paloma, the wife of Fox Durham, and their son Maddox! So it's unusual to have a tribute who is already married. Have you known Fox for a long time?"

"Daddy!" Maddox says excitedly at his father's name, and Paloma quickly shushes him.

"Quiet, Maddox," Paloma whispers to him, annoyance in her voice. She turns back to Kora, shaking her head at her son speaking up. "We've been together for several years now, since we were 14. Then when I got pregnant, he insisted we get married to raise our child together. And now here we are," Paloma says with a gesture down to her belly, "Pregnant once more and- and-"

Paloma starts crying and one of the crew members hands her some tissues as Kora tries to give her an encouraging smile. "I can only imagine how tough this must be, watching Fox in the Games when you have a family with him. What's it like being a parent at your age?"

Paloma gives a laugh at this and shakes her head as she looks down at Maddox squirming on the couch next to her, trying to leave. She finally lets him go and he runs off to where his grandparents are waiting nearby. "It's a lot, that's for sure. At this age, Maddox is so much to handle. And with another on the way…" Paloma shakes her head once more as a frown forms on her face. "This one wasn't exactly planned…but then again, neither was Maddox…"

"Do you two want a big family?" Kora asks her.

"Fox sure does," Paloma says right away, not looking too thrilled at the idea of having a bunch of kids. "That is…if he gets home to have more…"

"Fox has made it to the final eight," Kora starts slowly, careful about her choice of words now that they're getting to a delicate subject. "What are your thoughts on his former alliance with Amelia?"

A scowl forms on Paloma's face for a split second before she quickly goes back to a neutral expression, clearing her throat before answering, "Fox is always seeing the best in people, so I'm not…really surprised he allied with someone else… But I knew that girl wouldn't be good for him and sure enough, she left him."

"But she did leave him with half of the supplies," Kora adds, getting a scoff from Paloma.

"Yes, but with no weapon to use," Paloma says bitterly. "And four careers still out there."

"Do you think he would be able to fight if he had a weapon?" Kora asks her, knowing everyone has been curious about Fox not wanting to fight.

Paloma considers this question for a bit, her eyes watering once more before finally shaking her head. "I don't know. He's just- he's such a kind person and doesn't like hurting people and always trying to make people happy. But you can't do that in the Games."

"Right…" Kora agrees slowly, not wanting to further upset Paloma. "But tributes in the past have been similar and they have fought back when it was necessary. And Fox has the best motivation to fight and win."

"I sure hope you're right…"

Kora gives her an encouraging smile, but Paloma is too busy wiping her tears to see. "I guess we'll have to wait and see. Now we're nearly out of time, so is there anything you would like to say to Fox right now?"

Paloma nods her head as she sniffles. "Yes," she starts before pausing to blow her nose. "Babe…you have to fight and get home. Don't leave me all alone here. I can't…I can't raise our children on my own."

"Very well," Kora says, turning to face the camera for the last time today. "That concludes our interviews for the final eight tributes of the Sixth Quarter Quell! Which of these tributes will be victorious? Stay tuned to find out!"

Kora is given a thumbs up from the crew when the cameras are off and she sinks down in her chair, letting out a sigh of relief that it's over without any issues. She turns to Zephyr, knowing he must also be ready to be done with this and back to Seraphim, "Let's get back to the Capitol."

"Yes, please."

* * *

 _Adam Vignola, 18, District 7_

Adam couldn't believe that they were already at the final eight tributes when Khaya first told him and only on the fifth day. And when he heard that Fox was still one of them…he cried. He so badly wants Fox to be able to go home to his family and be with his children since Adam will never be able to. Let Fox be the father Adam will never get to be. At least the questioning has stopped…which only makes him more nervous about what is going on. Did they somehow find Cain? Is he still safe? Khaya wouldn't give him answers about what the rebels are up to, just saying Cain is safe, but he doesn't know how much to trust her…

The lights flicker on, bringing Adam's gaze up to see who is coming to see him. Instead, he finds commotion outside his cell as two men carry a person between them. The person keeps fighting against them and when they look at him, Adam's eyes widen as he recognizes the person. They stop moving and even without his hearing, he can tell they say his name.

But the rebels keep pushing the council member along, and Luciano pulls back on them, trying to get to him. Khaya soon follows behind them, her face looking unhappy as she glances over at Adam before quickly throwing a crumpled up piece of paper into his cell. Adam picks it up and hides it under his shirt, not wanting the others to take away whatever Khaya might have to say to him. He does move closer to the front of his cell, watching as they shove Luciano into the cell next to him, but quickly moves back when the two smack Luciano on the head, causing them to go limp.

Adam backs away as the two men look down at him and Khaya whispers something to the older men. They soon look away from Adam and head back the way they came. Khaya hesitates for a moment to follow them, looking over at Adam and giving him a brief nod of her head before leaving him behind. The lights soon shut off, leaving Adam to depend on the little bit of daylight shining in from the top window of his cell to see.

He waits a few minutes before slowly moving back to the front of his cell. He does his best to look over next to him before calling out, "Hello? Luciano? It's Adam…I still can't hear so…stick your hand out if you hear me."

Adam waits in silence for a few minutes as a panic slowly begins to build up in him. This cannot be good if they kidnapped one of the members of the President's Council… What kind of information could they torture out of them? And they might know where Cain is…

Adam moves further back in his cell, holding back a sob of fear for his baby. And not just his baby, but for what the rebels might cause by kidnapping someone as high ranking as Luciano. Are they trying to start another rebellion…? Don't they realize how much loss that would cause?

Needing something to distract himself before he can keep spiraling further into fear and panic, Adam takes out his hidden note with shaking hands and carefully unfolds it, smoothing out the crinkles in it. He moves underneath the window to get the most light possible to read the note from Khaya.

 _'Something is happening and the leaders aren't telling us their plan, which worries me. I don't know why they're keeping the younger generation in the dark…but it can't be good. They didn't tell us they kidnapped Luciano, who was supposedly a double agent for us. All I know is that they're getting ready to put some sort of plan into action with the Games. What that plan is…I don't know. But they are doing things that are making me question everything… I know you don't really trust me…but you must. Please believe that I want to help you out. Cedar was a brother to me and I hate seeing what they're doing to you. So just be ready to move at any time. I'm working on a plan. Make sure you hide this note somehow.'_

Adam doesn't know what to think about the note…except for the chill of fear running down his spine at them taking action with the Games. He doesn't know if anything they could do would be peaceful…how could he possibly believe they will be peaceful after what they have done to him? Or what they might _still_ do to him? He doesn't believe they'll do stuff that wouldn't harm people…

But as he crumples up the paper once more and tucks it into his pants, a new fear rises in him. If they're going to do something with the Games…what if they hurt Fox to hurt him? He would never forgive himself for that… But what can he do? He can't stop them. There's only one way he could, but he can't. Yet would telling them where Cain is even stop them at this point? If they're doing something else in the Games…this is something bigger than him.

This is something that could be bigger than anything Adam has seen in this country, or anything people have seen in the last 75 years…

* * *

 **That concludes our moment of calm in the eye of the storm and it is time to get back to our regularly scheduled Games angst! You probably thought this was just going to be a simple interview chapter but nope, we have some subplot time!**

 **Not much for me to say this time around except buckle up because things are only going to get crazier from here on. Oh, I will ask what are your predictions for the final 8 remaining tributes! Who do you think will be next to go? Who will be victor?**

 **See you all soon with Night Five!**


	43. Night Five: A Life That's So Demanding

**Chapter 39:**

 _Night Five_

 _Elias Pilkvist, 17, District Six_

Elias just wants to be back home. He has never been this alone before for so long… Even when he was abandoned by his parents, it was only a few hours until Cecy found him and helped him. When he was taken from her and sent to the Capitol, he always had someone else around from District Six. But the mentors are safe in the Capitol. And Genesis is gone…

He has no one. Just himself. And he does not like who he is. That is the worst part of being alone is being left to his thoughts and forced to admit he has become the person he has tried not to be… No, not person…the _monster_ his parents wanted him to be. He has become exactly who they wanted him to be for years, followed the training he spent years trying to undo with Cecy. But did he really try to stop it? He kept fighting after his family abandoned him because he _enjoyed_ fighting. He did not like hurting people, but he enjoyed the control he had over his body, making choices in the fight for himself alone. And most of all, he enjoyed seeing the joy on Cecy's face whenever he would bring home a big sum of money from a win and know that it was more money than she ever had before.

That was why he fought…for Cecy…not because he is a monster…right?

Then what reason does he have for fighting in the arena? For killing someone?

Elias curls up on himself, overwhelmed by the feeling of guilt in him over killing just one person and knowing that there is no way out of the arena without killing someone else… He does not know if he can live with the guilt of killing anyone else. He can fight, but actually killing someone? That he does not think he can do even if it is the one thing he must do to stay alive. And yet…one of his favorite things is seeing Cecy happy and he knows she would be so happy seeing him win and the life they could have with him as a victor. Can he kill for her happiness? He has had so much emotional pain over his life. What is a bit more if he brings happiness for Cecy?

Elias lets out a long sigh, not knowing what he should do. He knows what he wants to do. He wants to not kill anymore. But is that what he should do? He does not know the answer for that.

Yet he is forced to have an answer to that very soon.

The door slams open and startles Elias, making him jump at the sound as he tries to get to his feet, only to slip and fall over towards one of the lions in the room. It nips at his hand and Elias pulls back his hand, holding it to his chest to keep it safe as he watches Demarcus freeze in the doorway. The career is tense as he stares around, not focusing on Elias as he stays still against the wall, hoping he will not be forced to fight because he does not know what to do.

"Hello?" Demarcus calls out to the room, taking a step back when he hears one of the lions start growling. He swallows and clears his throat, still looking around and Elias notices that he only has a single knife and a bag on his shoulder. Blood drips down the side of his face from a different wound than the one that is already bandaged. "I heard someone…who's there?"

As his heart races, Elias uses the wall to push himself into a standing position and braces his prostheses in a fighting stance and starts to raise his fists. But he looks at Demarcus, badly beaten and using the door to keep himself standing, before looking down at his hands and soon lowers them, ashamed at himself. He cannot start a fight with someone who is already injured like that. He will only start a fair fight…but if Demarcus fights first, he will defend himself. He will at least do that, but nothing more.

"It is Elias," he says to the career, watching Demarcus try to stand up more at the knowledge of it being him in the room, and Elias hates it. He hates that the others think he is some terrible fighting monster, a threat to them, when it is the last thing he wants. Elias presses himself up at the wall and shakes his head at the career, "I do not want to kill you. I…I killed Arthur and I do not like this feeling…"

"Arthur?" Demarcus asks in confusion and his shoulders relax, but the rest of his body stays tense. "I killed him…he was badly injured when we found him, at least that's what Bell said…"

"I did not kill…" Elias says slowly, struggling to process this. "But I fought him and then there was a cannon. How could I have not killed him?"

Demarcus shakes his head as he lowers his hand, but keeps the knife in it. "We heard the noise and found Arthur." Elias does not know how to react to this information and his eyes begin to gloss over with tears and he cannot hold back a sob. "Are you…" Demarcus asks in confusion as he takes a step into the room, still holding onto the doorknob for support. "Why are you crying?"

Elias cannot hold back tears at this and he slides down the wall, back to the spot where he was curled up. For three days he has thought that he killed someone. Lived with the guilt and struggled to decide what to do. And now…now he knows that he was not the monster that he believed he was. "Thank you."

"Thank…you?" Demarcus repeats as he starts to waver in the spot where he stands before falling to the ground, startling Elias once more. The career groans in pain as he rolls over onto his side and looks in Elias' direction. "You're going to kill me, aren't you?"

"No," Elias answers without hesitation, knowing now more than ever that he cannot do that. Not when Demarcus is not attacking him at all. "You are not threatening me so I will not fight you."

"I don't understand," Demarcus says as he tries to push himself up to a seated position, his hands shaking as he struggles for a few seconds. The action requires all of his focus and once sitting, he puts a hand gently to his injured head. "You have an injured and blind career in front of you… You scored so _high_. Why haven't you killed me?"

Elias stares at the injured career, feeling…like he can do something different this time compared to when he last ran into someone injured and blind. He had been so startled when he found Arthur that he hurt him without wanting to, acting on years of trained instincts. But now…now he can make the choice for himself. "You are hurt. I would rather help you than hurt you more."

Demarcus stares in Elias' direction for a few long seconds, his face unreadable to Elias until his eyes begin to water. He turns his face towards the ground, not looking at Elias for a while as his shoulders shake. "I don't know why you are doing this. But I…I could really use some help." Demarcus lets out a sigh at this and starts to shake his head, but soon stops and groans in pain at the action. "I think I have a concussion. The others…I don't know what happened. I woke up injured and with them all gone… I don't even know who is still alive."

"Anastacia, Odyssey, and Delta," Elias says slowly, watching Demarcus look back up at him and seeming upset by the answer, before sighing once more. Elias studies the injured career, not sure where to even start. He is so used to hurting people from fighting, not healing them after fights. "What should I do to help? I do not have anything."

"You have nothing?" Demarcus asks, raising his eyebrows in surprise. "No food or water? How have you survived?"

Elias points over at where the lions are gathered in the corner, silently watching everything happening. "The lions have water and food. I have eaten some of the raw meat."

"Lions?" Demarcus asks as he starts searching the room, fear on his face. "Why are we in a room with lions?"

"They are good," Elias says with a frown at Demarcus picking up his knife once more. "They will not hurt us."

"Us…" Demarcus repeats, looking back over at Elias.

"Yes, us," Elias tells Demarcus before realizing that maybe the career does not want to be around him. He would understand why…Elias still is not sure that he is not a monster. But he asked Elias for help. Why would he do that if he did not want to work together? "Is that not why you asked for help?"

"I…" Demarcus answers with hesitation in his voice. He looks away from Elias for a while, staring off at the wall for a minute before turning back to Elias. "I don't want to be alone in this arena. You…you can fight, right? You scored high in training."

"I did score high," Elias confirms first, trying to decide how to answer the other question. "I do know how to fight, but I do it for money for Cecy, not because I like it."

"I do that for my family too…" Demarcus' shoulders hunch over at this and he again turns away from Elias and uses his arms to wipe away at tears. He gently shrugs the bag off his shoulder and pushes it towards Elias. "I have first aid in there. I think…I just need the wound clean. And…help yourself to any food in there. They're our supplies now."

* * *

 _Davy Emmerich, 14, District Five_

Davy could no longer deny his odds of winning. He's only fourteen, the youngest one left out of the final eight, all the others either seventeen or eighteen. Four of the others left are careers. Yet it's those reasons that a small bubble of hope is starting to form deep down in him, fighting the looming sense of doom that has been in him since he first heard his name called out at the Reaping. Yes, he might be the youngest left, but to reach the final eight at his age says something. He's outlived two careers and several others that were older than him. And Clark won last year at thirteen, a year younger than Davy. He's had support from the Capitol, somehow, even if he doesn't fully understand that since he's not that impressive compared to a career or even one of the other older non-careers. But Davy can't deny that someone is looking out for him from the sponsor gifts he's gotten, or that that the Gamemakers for some reason have been favoring him over others.

And…as much as just thinking about the metallic smell of blood nearly makes him lose the small content of his stomach…Davy _did_ make a kill… That has to say _something_ about his odds of winning. The Hunger Games aren't won without making kills…surely he'll make more if he's to get out of here.

And he really does want to get out of here. With the bit of hope brings images of what his future could be. He could be happy with Leandro, not needing to hide such a big part of himself to his family. He could go to university and study what he wants, not what his father wants. Maybe he might even make his father proud of him if he wins… But if not, does that really matter if he has Leandro by his side? A little bit…but not as much as before going into this nightmare.

Yet he still has so far to go before getting back home to Five. It's only the final eight… They must have been interviewing their families and friends today. Davy smiles to himself as he leans back against the wall, picturing what his family must have been like, but the image soon makes his eyes begin to water as he realizes just how much he misses them. Despite always feeling left out and not good enough for his father, he knows his family still cares about him, especially his mother. He wishes he could have one of her hugs right now, even if he's getting too old to need comfort from his mother like that.

Davy tries to rub his eyes discretely before any tears can fall, knowing he needs to keep showing the Capitol that he's being brave. Showing _Leandro_ that he's brave… He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the note from him, running his hand over the letters. Yes…he's okay. He has to keep staying okay for Leandro. He doesn't even want to think about Leandro watching anything happen to him…so he has to do his best to not let that happen.

But he really hasn't done much in this arena. He could have done so much more to try and get out of here. He's barely left this room – he wouldn't really count sticking his head out the door before running back in at the sight of Sky as leaving… He's just been counting on sponsor gifts and the Gamemakers being happy with him and leaving him alone to focus on the other tributes.

Yet…they're running out of other tributes to focus on instead. Whether Davy likes it or not…the Gamemakers _will_ bring their attention to him sooner or later. And he doesn't know if it will be in his favor or not anymore…

Davy glances down at one of the two knives sitting next to him, knowing what needs to be done with it, but dreading the moment he has to fight again. He can still feel the sting in his shoulder from the cut he got from Sky and the aches from his body getting shoved around. He doesn't want to feel any more pain…

But he needs to get out of this arena alive.

Davy needs to do _something_ to keep the audience – and more importantly, the Gamemakers – liking him. Do something on his terms, not because the Gamemakers pushed him to kill. And maybe…maybe he just won't run into anyone yet, or if he does, it won't be a career. Or the tribute won't want to fight him. Davy shakes his head at that thought, knowing it won't be true. Tributes don't make it to the final eight without being willing to fight.

Davy takes a deep breath as he gathers up the small bit of bread remaining and tucks it in one of his pockets before picking up both knives and standing up on shaky legs. The knives feel awkward and heavy in his hands, letting a bit of doubt dampen the hope building in him. He can pretend all he wants that he knows what he's doing with the knives, but he doesn't… But neither do half of the tributes remaining. And at least he _has_ a weapon. That might be more than some of the others.

He focuses on the hope instead of the doubt, trying to keep motivated to actually do something as he heads towards the door. He stops in front of it, turning to look back at the wolves and finding his favorite looking at him with sad eyes. Even though he knows they're mutts from the Gamemakers…Davy likes the wolves and he's going to miss them. "Thank you for everything," he whispers to them – at least, he thinks he's whispering, but his hearing device says otherwise. "But…I need to go now."

The wolf gives him a look of understanding and even nods her head at him before laying back down, and Davy turns to face the door. He takes a deep breath, knowing there's no going back now. But he was always going to reach this point if he wanted to win. And he does. He's terrified at the thought of dying.

And so he reaches out with a shaky hand for the doorknob and… Davy scrunches his face in confusion as he tries the doorknob again, only confirming that it's firmly locked. He steps back from the door, staring all over at it and assessing what is going on. He nervously glances back at the wolves, worried that it's a trap by the Gamemakers, but they're all still exactly in the same spot and not paying him much attention.

So why won't they let him leave this room when he finally had the courage to leave?

Davy sighs as he leans against the door and slides down to the ground. "I guess I'm not leaving…" he says softly to himself, staring across the room. But as he does, he starts to study the hatch that has opened for the wolves twice and allowed them to leave for a short time before returning. He hadn't paid much attention to it, not wanting to leave the safety of this room. But now… Where does it go? It must be somewhere in the arena…and would they let him use that passage?

What's the worst that will happen if he tries and they don't want him to? They'll just keep it locked, just like the door. At least he could say he tried everything to leave the room.

Before his resolve can slip away, Davy stands back up and heads to the hatch. He slowly feels around it and steps back in fear when it slides open in front of him. He peers inside to the dark tunnel sloping up before looking back at the wolves, seeing if any of them are going to stop him from going in it. But they haven't moved and one even glances at the hatch, seemingly encouraging him to go through it.

Davy takes a deep breath before climbing into the tunnel, it big enough that he only has to crouch a little while standing. On the rough cement floor are metal rungs every few feet to help the climb up and so Davy adjusts his hold on his knives before crouching down, using the rungs to help him climb so he doesn't slip and injure himself.

The climb is slow the first few feet as he loses the light coming from the room and he eventually reaches a flat portion and feels around, finding a small platform before the tunnel continues sloping up in a different direction. But as he turns, his hearing device goes off once and Davy glances back, finding the hatch shut once more.

A shiver of fear goes through him, knowing that there's no going back now… And he's terrified of what he might be facing on the other side of this tunnel. He tries to think through the orientation of his room in the arena, but can't remember much of his initial run into the room, too terrified to pay attention to his surroundings. But if he's going up…there's not much else he could be heading for.

Davy wanted to do something to prove he is willing to fight to win, but now he's wondering if he took too big of a gamble… A gamble he is being forced to see through. He can only hope the careers won't notice him…

Davy forces himself to continue climbing up the tunnel, knowing he has to keep climbing and starting to grow more afraid of the darkness with each passing minute. As he gets further up the tunnel, he can see a small crack of light coming through, bringing him comfort and fear.

When he reaches the crack of light, Davy feels around, finding what seems to be a trap door covering the end of the tunnel. He pushes it a small fraction and stops when some sand starts to fall through the cracks. This is worse than he imagined…he didn't just head up to the above ground part of the arena. He went straight into the careers camp.

Davy sits down in the tunnel, trying to control his increasing breathing as panic starts to build in him. What does he do? He can't go back now. But how can he get away from four careers? He can't…he just walked right into a death trap, all because he allowed himself to start getting a bit of hope. Yet he can't stay here. Davy will have to leave the tunnel and try to slip away from the careers unnoticed…

That won't happen.

Tears start to well in his eyes as he fears his approaching death. He doesn't want to die. He wants to live… Why would the Gamemakers send him here? He was _doing_ something! …But he hadn't been doing much otherwise… This is his fault. And now he has to face the consequences.

Davy takes a deep breath as he reaches up with a shaky hand and slowly starts pushing on the trap door again, doing his best to open it very slowly to not draw attention to himself. But he soon finds there's only a little bit of give upwards and he slips his fingers in the small crack of light showing and begins sliding it back. It only stops a tiny bit of fear in him knowing they at least won't see the trap door being raised.

He opens it just enough to peek his head through and waits a minute, watching the device on his wrist for any sort of sound that might indicate that the careers have noticed him. But the device gives no indication and as Davy's legs begin to cramp, he slowly lifts his head out, just enough to see over the top of the trap door, and frantically looks around, almost certain that a knife will be heading into his head.

But there's no one. Not even a fire going in front of the cornucopia. Davy scrunches his face in confusion, having been almost certain that the careers would still be here with four of them remaining.

Davy stars pushing the door open more to slide his body out more, but stops when his device starts buzzing against his arm a bunch and he slips back down into the tunnel. He quickly closes the trap door and waits for an attack that never comes, watching the device until the buzzing stops, leaving silence in the arena outside the trap door. Silence until one quick buzz from a cannon.

* * *

 _Anastacia Astoria, 18, District One_

It hasn't been long since Delta finally stopped her angry pacing and accepted that until the Gamemakers want them to, they won't be allowed to go to the lower level of the arena. She didn't want to listen to Anastacia's logic that they should take the day to rest up and prepare for tomorrow's Trial by Combat in case one of them was put in it. It took a few hours for her to sit still, then even longer to actually go to sleep. Anastacia didn't mind the forced rest the Gamemakers were giving them after so many days of being on edge. That edge is still there, of course, but dulled by the knowledge that the Gamemakers don't want any deaths right now. Not while they interview everyone.

Maybe it was the interviews themselves that set Delta on edge. She had been pretty fine before then – so quiet for a while that Anastacia was almost certain that she had left her. She doesn't know much about Delta's home life – and doesn't want to get to know her more, not when ultimately Delta has to die for her to win. But she understands if she has a rough life or strained relationship with her mother. She'd be lying if things weren't tense ever since her parents' rebel involvement was revealed to her, even more so after they couldn't stop her from her decision to volunteer. At least Anastacia knows they value their lives too much to say anything outright that would bring the Capitol down on her head unfairly. She also understands what it's like to lose someone she cares deeply about, just like Delta with her father…

Stop it, Anastacia. Do _not_ start sympathizing with Delta. She is one of seven others that must die for Anastacia to get back home to One and to accomplish the goals she set out on years ago after Pad's death.

Anastacia angrily punches the pillow behind her, trying to get more comfortable as she leans against the cold stone pillow. Maybe she shouldn't have taken watch – even though it's hardly watching for her. She was just tired of Delta's pacing and knew she would never sleep with her like that. But now she doesn't like all this free time to think. She shouldn't be thinking about her ally this much, at least not this way. She needs to keep reminding herself that it's herself or Delta. She needs to focus on her goals. Win the Games. Help get abused people out of bad homes. Adopt a cute cat or two.

 _And be alone._

Anastacia groans at her brain's wayward thoughts, shaking her head at herself. She can't be thinking these things. So what if she's alone? She's spent _years_ being alone, ever since she was thirteen. She can deal with being alone if she knows she's helping other kids like Pad not end up like how they did. There's no possibility of more than one of them getting out of this arena alive and the sooner her dumb brain wraps itself around that concept, the easier it will be getting through these last seven tributes, including Delta.

As long as she neglects the fact that Delta has both her sight and hearing while Anastacia only has partial hearing. And denies the fact that she hasn't done that well so far with killing and doing things on her own. She's gotten injured in the few fights she's had and she only killed Major with the help of Delta and Odyssey, and that didn't even go fully to plan for the three of them – sorry Odyssey, her bad – but better him than her. He at least still has his sight and hearing.

Can she even get through the seven remaining tributes like this?

Anastacia sighs at the thought and turns her head up to what she assumes is the open night sky. She's starting to realize just how difficult this next part of the Games is going to be. She always knew it would be difficult with the Quell twist, but had kind of just been hoping she'd lose an easier sense and coast through like Delta and Odyssey have been doing. But…she's been through hell before and the biggest loss of her life and survived that. If she can survive losing her best friend at only thirteen – and even come out stronger – she has to figure out some way to get through this. She'll bleed and fight tooth and nail to get out of this arena alive.

But so are her former allies and Delta.

Maybe she'll be lucky and Delta will be put in another Trial by Combat and somehow get killed. Make things a little easier for her.

Anastacia rubs her good ear, wondering if she's starting to lose it when she hears a faint beeping sound. She doesn't want to wake Delta up for nothing in case it's just her brain imagining things, but the beeping gets louder, making there be no doubt in Anastacia's mind that it's real. She lightly kicks over at Delta, getting a groan when her foot connects with her head and she mutters an apology as rustling indicates that Delta is sitting up. "Wha- oh."

"Oh what?" Anastacia asks as there's a soft thud between them that has Anastacia reaching for a knife and then the beeping stops.

"It's a gift for you," Delta says as Anastacia hears it get settled right in front of her. "Only a '1' on the side of it."

"Oh," Anastacia says quietly, a bit of shock making its way into her voice. She didn't really expect to receive any sponsor gifts and was fully prepared to make it through the Games on her own – part of her almost _wanted_ to stubbornly win all on her own. But she's not going to turn down a gift that's right in front of her. Unless it's another hat, even if the hard hat she has is actually useful. She just could have used it sooner. "I wonder what it is," Anastacia mutters to herself as she puts her hands the canister in front of her, feeling around for the latch to open it up.

With a quiet little _pop_ the lid opens up and Anastacia reaches inside, finding…nothing? She sits back, her face scrunching in confusion that only grows when a foul smell reaches her nose. "What the hell is this?"

"Fuck!" Delta yells and suddenly she is scrambling away, pushing the canister into Anastacia's lap and hitting her full force with the smell.

"Get it away from me!" Anastacia yells as she quickly pushes the canister away from her, but the smell lingers all around her as she tries to reach out for her supplies to grab before getting out of there. Her hands are heavy as she grabs her sword and tries to scramble to her feet, only to trip over them and sending her face first to the ground, unable to even put her arm out to stop herself.

"It's poison!" Delta yells before she starts coughing. She grabs onto Anastacia's arm and tries to start pulling her away, before dropping the heavy arm and Anastacia hears her footsteps running away from her.

"No…" Anastacia groans at Delta's retreating footsteps, her whole body feeling heavy as she becomes unable to move. Her chest feels like a weight is on it, making her struggle to keep breathing. _No_. She can't be dying. Not like this. Not with some bullshit trick from the Gamemakers making her think she has a sponsor gift when it was just poison.

Why? Why her? They wanted them to not do anything today! They can't be mad at her for not doing anything today!

Anastacia tries to move to push herself away from the poison surrounding her, but she can't move at all. Fuck, she doesn't want to die like this, suffocating from her lungs no longer being able to take in any air from her muscles shutting down.

 _Boom._

Anastacia freezes up – well, more than she already is from the damn poison, as confusion, and more importantly, air and blood, courses through her. What…the fuck? Why did the cannon go off before she's dead? As she lays there, unable to move as her mind races, fully alert still, she realizes that she's still able to bring in just enough air to her lungs and her immobility isn't getting any worse.

New fear fills her as she feels air from a hovercraft blowing down on her and then the metal claws wrapping around her, taking her up into the air and being completely unable to stop it. _No, this shouldn't be happening._ She shouldn't be taken out of the arena when she's still alive. What is happening?!

Anastacia tries to fight through the paralysis holding her body still as she's taken into the hovercraft and a bag is put over her head. "Tha- won't-" She can barely get out any words, her tongue thick and heavy in her mouth, unable to tell whoever it is that putting a bag over her head does nothing when she is _blind._

"Quiet!" A harsh voice says in her ear and Anastacia tries to fight more but her body refuses to move from the poison, before she cries out at a sharp sting in her arm. "Tracker is down. Let's get her to Seven."

A chill runs down Anastacia's spine as the hovercraft starts moving with her pressed against the cold metal floor, unable to move and fight against the people that soon pick her up and start dragging her somewhere. All she can do is feel her mind and heart racing as she questions why they are taking her to Seven. Not the Capitol, not One, _Seven_. There's one reason that gets through her foggy brain and it sets a rage burning in her, rage that someone – or two people – have ruined her chances of winning the Games and possibly put her life at risk, all because they couldn't handle her making her own decision with the Games.

 _What the fuck did her parents do?!_

* * *

 **I did warn everyone to buckle up last chapter lol. What is happening?! Obviously I'm not answering that question now lol. Answers will happen eventually, but I'm not revealing everything just now.**

 **And now we're down to seven within the arena! As always, I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter!**

 **Updates might slow down a bit soon since my semester will be starting up again, but trust me, we'll get through these Games fast lol. I'm hyped to get to all the stuff I have planned so I will see you all soon!**


	44. Day Six: How I Disappear

**Chapter 40:**

 _Day Six_

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

If it were up to Seraphim, he would call off the rest of the Games and have a seven person finale after everything that has happened. First Adam getting kidnapped, now Anastacia? Why her? Adam's connection to the rebels was obvious, but what connection does Anastacia have to them? Did they miss something in their background checks? But more importantly…how did they do it?

Seraphim is terrified that they don't know _how_ the rebels did it. No one in the Games Headquarters authorized that poisoned sponsor gift, yet it still got to Anastacia. He didn't call for a cannon to be fired when it did since they could all see her heartrate still on the monitors. Theodosius' security team is still trying to trace the source of those commands, but one thing is clear… Their operating system isn't secure and the rebels have gotten access somehow. Which is why Seraphim wants to end the Games before the rebels can hack anything else.

Yet he can't just call for the finale now, despite wanting to end this before anything else can go wrong. The country doesn't know what is happening with the rebels and to all of them, Anastacia and Adam are dead… The don't know about the threat that is building and if they did, widespread panic could happen, riots, accidents, _deaths_ … The last thing they need is the country growing panicked at something that could end up being nothing – it's not the first time the President has had to squash a rebellion. So what they need right now is normalcy in the Games. And somehow, Seraphim is in charge of that normalcy…

"Seraphim…"

Seraphim sighs as he moves his hand from his face to look over at Zephyr, trying to keep all his fears and worries off of his face. He doesn't need to make anyone else as stressed as he is. "Yes?"

Zephyr sits down next to him and puts a hand on his shoulder, but the touch brings little comfort to Seraphim. Not when his Games are slowly falling apart and they have to pretend everything is fine. "I don't think you should do the Trial by Combat today."

"I can't stop it," Seraphim whispers, afraid that speaking any louder will let his fear show in his voice. "You heard the President's orders. We have to keep going on like nothing is wrong. We _can't_ let the public know yet what is happening…"

Zephyr stares at Seraphim for a while and from his expression, Seraphim knows he sees right through him. "I understand that…but don't you think maybe the Trials by Combat are maybe… I don't know, maybe the rebels are using that as fuel."

"What do you mean?" Seraphim asks in confusion, turning to face Zephyr fully. "People are expecting a third Trial today and so we're going to do one, end of story. That's the President's order."

"Yes, but maybe the rebels see it as different," Zephyr sighs as he runs a hand through his hair, growing frustrated as he tries to find the words to say. "Look, in Two, I know aside from the whole Bell versus Odyssey thing, they'll view it as a fun twist in the Games and probably be placing bets on the next one. Most likely the same in One and Four. But the other Districts?"

"Are you an expert in the other Districts?" Seraphim asks, his tone sharper than he intended and he quickly turns away from Zephyr, but not before he sees the hurt on his face.

"More than you living in the Capitol your whole life," Zephyr answers coolly as he takes his hand off of Seraphim's shoulder and crosses his arms, still looking over at the Head Gamemaker. "I know the victors and let me tell you, I am sure they do not view the Trials by Combat as entertainment. They probably dread each time one comes up."

"What do you want me to do, Zephyr?" Seraphim asks exasperated as he turns back to Zephyr. He just doesn't get it. He doesn't understand that Seraphim doesn't have control of every decision about the Games, even if he is the Head Gamemaker. Even less so with the rebels once again interfering. "It's not all up to me here. I'm walking a fine line here and with any slight nudge in one direction, everything could fall apart. I can't go against what the President told me to do. But also I'm petrified of doing something that is going to get me hurt by rebels again. Last year could have been so different…"

Seraphim doesn't realize he's starting crying until Zephyr reaches out and wipes away a tear from his cheek. He puts both hands on Seraphim's shoulders, keeping him looking at him for a moment before pulling him into a tight hug. "This is not going to be like last year. I'm here now and no one is going to hurt you, ever. I'll destroy every last rebel before they even _think_ about hurting you again."

This only makes Seraphim start crying even more, all the pent up emotions from five full days of the Games catching up to him. "I don't deserve you."

"Yes you do," Zephyr answers quietly before starting to chuckle a little when Seraphim presses his head into his shoulder. "You're going to get snot on my shoulder."

"Hey I'm not the snot crier, that's you," Seraphim laughs a little through his tears as he pulls back from Zephyr and tries to wipe away his tears. "I just become a blubbering mess."

"That you do," Zephyr says with an even louder laugh and Seraphim leans against him again, needing the comfort and support from him right now. It's just…so much being put on his shoulders.

But someone clears their throat nearby and their laughter soon dies down when they look over to see Rosabella standing there. Seraphim immediately stands up and approaches her, concerned by the tears she's barely holding back and the fear on her face. "Sorry to interrupt you, Seraphim, but…we have a problem."

"Is my mother safe?" Seraphim asks immediately and when Rosabella nods her head, his whole body relaxes for a moment, but soon tenses up again at her still looking distraught. "What's wrong?"

"It's more important now than ever that we don't let the public know yet what is happening… We're trying everything to keep it contained and we're afraid of the rebels starting a full scale rebellion but conflict seems inevitable at this point," Rosabella lets out a heavy sigh as she pulls out her phone and takes a moment to bring something up before showing Seraphim and the image sends a chill down his spine. "They have Luciano."

Seraphim stares at the image of the council member in a prison cell for a few long seconds. His heart races as he touches his arm, phantom pain shooting through it. "That's an act of war kidnapping a high profile person in the government…"

"We know," Rosabella says quietly, shaking her head as she removes the image from her screen and puts away her phone. "Mendalius is doing everything to keep war from happening and he just needs you to keep doing everything you've been doing so far."

Seraphim shakes his head at her as Zephyr protectively puts a hand on his back. "Rosabella, I don't think keeping the Games moving the same is going to stop the rebels."

"No, it won't," Rosabella answers him honestly. "But it might just buy us some time to stop them from getting the rest of the country on their side. We have a plan, we just…need some time. Just keep doing your job and focus on that. We're keeping things under control."

But from the look on her face, they both know that things are most definitely not under control.

* * *

 _Delta Zale, 17, District Four_

 _You left her to die_.

Delta shakes her head at the nagging thought she can't escape, no matter how much she paces the upper levels of the arena. She didn't leave Anastacia. She tried to pull her away from the poison, but couldn't, so she ran away. She was just making sure that both of them didn't die from the poison. She was just trying not to die. Anastacia would have needed to die eventually anyways. It's the Hunger Games. They both knew what needs to happen in the Games to be the victor when they volunteered for this. It was Anastacia or Delta, that's all.

 _It's your fault._

Is it Delta's fault? She shoved the canister onto Anastacia's lap in her panic to get it away from her. She could have pushed it anywhere else other than at her ally. She didn't mean to, it just happened when she was trying to get away from her. So it's not her fault.

Then why the hell is she feeling this way? Why can't she stop thinking about leaving Anastacia behind and the cannon that sounded so soon after? She doesn't even know what exactly she's feeling… She's always been so sure of her decisions before so why is she questioning everything about this one? Why is this one death consuming her thoughts so much? She's killed three tributes in this arena and none of them stuck around in her head for this long after their death.

 _You shouldn't have left her behind._

Delta stops her pacing as the new thought slips into her head before she can try to push it aside and focus on the Games. She turns back and looks up towards the third level where they were camped out before getting that fake sponsor gift, trying to understand the twisting in her stomach from Anastacia's death. She needs to stop thinking about her former ally and move on already.

 _Just admit you regret it._

Delta turns to face the ground, trying to stop any of the cameras following their every move from seeing her face as she grows angry, directed all towards herself. She doesn't regret what she did…that would be so stupid to regret leaving someone behind to die when they're now down to only seven tributes left. She's getting so much closer to winning the Games for the Capitol. But that's all she's winning for…revenge against the rebels. She doesn't even have a plan for what she's doing after she wins, just had such a narrow focus on winning in the name of the Capitol. No grand plan to help people escaped abuse…

Delta quickly resumes her pacing at this thought, trying to hide her emotions. Why does it matter if Delta doesn't have a plan right now? She'll just work for the Capitol. Yeah, that's what she's going to do. She'll ask President Xavier when all of this is done what she can keep doing to stop the rebels. Surely she can help them with the knowledge she has of them.

Delta nods her head to herself, focusing on those thoughts and trying to push aside the feelings of regret in her. She's not regretful about Anastacia's death. No, why would she be? It's kill or be killed. Fight to the death. Only one can live. So there's absolutely no way that Delta is regre-

A silver canister with a '4' on the side pops up in front of her, making her stop suddenly as she stares down at it. She narrows her eyes, knowing exactly what happened the last time there was a sponsor gift, before she kicks it away from her. No fucking way is she going to trust anything sent as a 'sponsor gift' anymore, not after they tricked them last night and killed Anastacia. Delta storms away from it, hating the bitter reminder of what she did from just seeing the gift. But she only gets a few paces until another one pops up and when she turns to walk the other way instead, another one is behind her.

"Is this some cruel joke?" Delta yells up at the sky, pissed off at the Gamemakers thinking that this is funny. "It's not! Fuck your quote-unquote gifts!"

Delta glares around for a few seconds, just daring them to try and send another one to her, and just when she thinks she has one, another pops up in front of her. Delta lets out a scream of rage as she picks it up and throws it as far as she can, watching as it falls down the stairs, making a ton of noise every time the metal hits a stone stair, before eventually landing in the sand. She takes a few deep breaths, trying to bring down the rage in her. She shouldn't be getting mad at the Capitol for this… The Capitol is good, they have been supporting her ever since she started bringing them information about…the…rebels…

Delta narrows her eyes at the silver canister she threw down the stairs, not wanting to believe her thoughts could be true. There's no way the rebels could be doing this…yet that's a lie and she knows it. She knows exactly what the rebels are capable of doing.

Delta slides down to the ground, letting out a sigh as she stares at the silver canisters surrounding her in disbelief. She just doesn't want to believe that the rebels are still ruining her life in the Games, the one thing she's been proud to do for herself. But is it really for herself? She's been doing it for the Capitol and to spite the rebels.

 _The rebels killed Anastacia._

Delta's hands shake in anger at this realization. It's her fault. Anastacia got caught in the crossfire of them trying to get to Delta. Oh they are going to fucking pay for this. How dare those fuckers take another person she cares about from her?

Fanfare starts in the arena, making Delta jump to her feet, spear raised and ready to fight, until she realizes that it is just the announcement for the next Trial by Combat.

"Good afternoon, tributes!" Kora greets the few remaining tributes, but she doesn't sound as cheery as last time. "We have made it to day six which means it is time for our third Trial by Combat. Which two tributes will be fighting each other this time? Let's find out!"

Delta is so fired up right now that she almost shouts to the Gamemakers to put her in another fight. She doesn't care who she fights, she just needs to do _something_ to get this anger out of her system. She'll fight any of the tributes left, even Odyssey and Demarcus. Actually, she'd like that fight since it would actually be a fight, not a decimation like what happened when she was put with that rebel scum from Seven.

But Delta doesn't get what she wants.

"Our two participants today are…" Kora pauses for the drama and Delta rolls her eyes before glaring up at the sky. "Amelia Fensa and Fox Durham!"

Delta lets out an angry noise at not being selected. It's not even going to be a good fight! Those two don't know how to actually fight. If they wanted entertaining, they should have put another career in, or put her in again. This won't even be a good fight for her to watch.

Delta pauses at that thought, staring down at the sand pit below. By now they should have brought those two tributes below the arena and will be preparing them for their fight, giving them armor and weapons. And then they'll have free reign of the fighting area. The area that still has a bunch of supplies in the cornucopia. Now Delta can't let the winner just get any supplies they want.

And what was it they said for the first Trial? They said tributes were welcome to watch and even encouraged them to do so… They never said anything against other tributes participating. When they watched the first two Trials, no one interfered because why would they interfere with Delta fighting a pathetic girl, or the Two pair fighting each other? They never tested the rules for the Trials…or maybe lack of rules. And if they wanted tributes to come watch, surely they won't have a problem with someone else fighting.

They better not have a problem with it because that won't stop Delta from fighting. She needs a distraction and the best way to do that is to fight. So fuck all of these feelings she doesn't understand. Fuck the rebels mocking her with fake sponsor gifts. She's getting the fuck out of this arena as soon as possible.

Delta is going to get these Games finished so she can get out of this arena and make the rebels burn.

* * *

 _Fox Durham, 18, District Ten_

This is the last thing that Fox wanted. He doesn't want to hurt anyone, especially not someone he cares about, even if she did leave him without saying goodbye to him. Amelia still was kind to him in the little bit of time they shared together in the arena. This was what she was probably trying to avoid by leaving him. She was so worried that they would put them together in a Trial by Combat and maybe she thought if they were separated, the Gamemakers would no longer by interested in seeing the pair fight.

He supposes they were wrong in thinking that.

Fox doesn't want to hurt Amelia, but he's terrified at the thought of dying. Terrified of leaving his family behind. Maddox means the whole world to him and he can't imagine his son growing up without a father… But can Fox really hurt Amelia, let alone kill her?

He doesn't have any more time to think about if he can or can't do that. Not now that they're pushing him back into another launch tube, making his breathing pick up as he's brought back to the start of the Games. But then he had nothing. Just his alliance with Adam. Now he has leather armor and a sword, but no allies. He's soon surrounded by darkness as the bit of sunlight above him becomes closer and closer, bringing him one step closer to two options that terrify him: having to kill or being killed.

Fox is brought back into the arena and he blinks a few times against the sunlight, his eyes straining against so much daylight after spending the past few days seeing by torchlight. They stand in the sand near the cornucopia – still filled with supplies – and Amelia raises a hand to block her eyes from the sun but soon stops when she remembers the large circular blades on her hands.

A gong sounds, signaling it's time for them to fight, only making tears start forming in Fox's eyes as they both stay put, neither of them wanting to start fighting each other. He stares across at her, studying her face and trying to tell himself that he has to fight her to get out of here alive and home to his son, but it's pointless. He'll never be able to convince himself to kill her…

"I don't blame you for leaving," Fox tells her, wanting her to know the truth so she doesn't feel guilty about this when it is over. Because they both know what the outcome of this is going to be. Amelia was always the one with more drive to fight and do things, even though Fox should have been that one when he has a family to get home to. "You are the one with the smart ideas. Just…good luck after this is over. If you do win, please…make sure Paloma and my kids are taken care of, okay?"

"Fox…" Amelia calls out to him, frown on her face as she sighs. "Of course I will… I hope you can forgive me…I'm really sorry for this. I truly am. But I…I have to survive. I know you have a family but-"

Amelia cuts off as she collapses to the ground, her body convulsing and Fox starts running over to her, immediately forgetting that they're supposed to be fighting each other. Because right now, his ally is getting hurt by something and he doesn't care if they are in the Hunger Games, he wants to protect her. "Amelia!"

Before he can even get close to her, her body stops moving, leaving her slumped on the ground and Fox stops running, tears beginning to fall down his cheeks at the thought that another ally of his has died in front of him before he could get to them and stop them. "No, please," Fox says quietly as a hovercraft appears above Amelia and he drops down to his knees, not wanting to believe this. She can't be gone.

 _Boom._

"No!" Fox yells out at the cannon as the metal claw comes down to pick up Amelia, but suddenly there's another yell in the arena, this one of surprise and suddenly Fox is knocked to the side. He picks himself up and looks around quickly at the various mutts racing towards the hovercraft picking Amelia up, some large cats jumping at it and fighting to…stop it? What is going on?

Fox turns around and finds the source of the yell as Davy pushes himself to his feet in confusion, standing not too far from Fox in front of an opening in the ground where one last wolf is running out of. When Davy sees him, he lets out a yelp of surprise and quickly grabs two knives he dropped on the ground and holds them defensively in front of him. "I-I wi-will fight back!" Davy tells him, his voice wavering and hands shaking so much as they hold onto the knives so tightly his knuckles turn white. He is trying so hard to look like he is going to fight, but Fox can tell Davy is just trying to fool him. He's about as prepared to fight as Fox is.

"I don't want to fight," Fox holds up his free hand defensively and lowers his sword as he glances over at the hovercraft finishing bringing Amelia's body up into it. What happened? Why kill her now when they were about to fight? He turns back to Davy, holding back a sob in his throat at Amelia's sudden death, but his eyes soon widen and he takes a step back in fear as he looks past the boy. "Run!"

But his scream is too late to Davy, too late to stop Delta from running towards the young boy and sending her spear through his chest. Davy gasps in pain as he coughs up blood and looks down at the spear sticking through him, before it's yanked back and he falls down to his knees, clutching a hand to his chest. Delta doesn't even pause at stabbing the young boy, just turning to face Fox with a look of fury in her eyes and he knows there will be no escape from her.

"Please, no!" Fox tries to beg her as he starts taking some steps back, but she keeps coming towards him. Until a wolf tackles her to the ground and she hits it with her spear, making it yelp in pain and giving her the chance to shove it aside. Delta scrambles to her feet and starts running to try to avoid the pack of wolves now chasing after her, fighting to bite her through her metal armor.

The mutts leave him alone, all choosing instead to chase after Delta instead, and at whimpers and gasps of pain from Davy, Fox soon stumbles over to the boy. He drops down next to him, kneeling in a pool of blood surrounding the boy as he tries in vain to put pressure on the stab wound, but blood keeps pouring out around his hand. Davy flinches away from Fox at first and looks up at him with tearstained eyes. Fox tries to smile encouragingly at him, making the young boy not as afraid of him as Fox puts his hand over Davy's, trying to stop the bleeding, but there's no coming back from that kind of injury. The least he can do is be there for Davy since he couldn't for Adam or Amelia… "Hey, I'm here," Fox tells Davy, but the boy just looks at him with a confused look as he lets out a sob of pain.

"I tried-" Davy gasps as he looks at Fox, who tries to hold back his tears at seeing the young boy dying in front of him. Screams sound from behind him, but Fox doesn't look back to see what is happening to Delta. "To…t-to be brave. I-I'm sorry I won't get home to you."

"You were," Fox tells Davy, nodding his head at the young boy. He glances down at his hand covering the wound, it already covered in the boy's blood. He turns back to Davy as the boy starts gasping, finding it hard to keep breathing. Fox's heart breaks as he watches the young boy dying in front of him and knowing there's nothing he can do to stop it. This just isn't fair. Davy wasn't supposed to be in this fight… It was supposed to be just him and Amelia. Not Davy. Certainly not Delta. If anyone was supposed to die from this fight, it was Fox... "You were very brave."

Davy starts shaking his head, staring up at the sky as his face pales. Tears pour down the sides of his face and Fox says his name, but Davy doesn't hear him, just continuing to stare up at the sky. "I…I…Le…" he lets out a breath and Fox waits to hear what the boy is trying to say, but when he glances down, Davy's chest doesn't rise again.

 _Boom._

Fox stumbles back from Davy, terrified at seeing such a young boy die right in front of him. In his head, he's not seeing Davy, but Maddox… "No," Fox whispers as more screams and snarls sound behind him, and he keeps pushing himself from the body. It's not his son. His son is safe at home in Ten…but this is someone's son. Someone is now mourning their son…

How can Fox ever possibly cause that to someone else?

Fox scrambles to get to his feet, needing to get out of here and away from all the blood. But his hands are now covered in Davy's blood. He won't get away from it. He forces himself to look away from his bloody hand, realizing there's now silence surrounding him and when he looks up, he gets frozen in fear at the fast cloud of…of _something_ moving towards him, past Delta and the mutts now collapsed on the ground. He swivels around, finding it approaching him from all angles and he lets out a cry of fear as he takes a breath in and smells whatever it is, and he knows it's not good. It burns his lungs and he tries to cover up his mouth and nose with his hand, but there's not stopping the fog from surrounding him and he is soon coughing as he collapses to the ground.

Fox is surrounded by the dense fog quickly and as everything starts going black, he catches a glint of something coming towards him through the fog. But he can't even raise his hand to defend himself from whatever it is, held down by the fog as he slips into unconsciousness.

* * *

 **If you thought shit hit the fan last chapter, well, welcome to day six. I am going to wait with any eulogies until next chapter to keep up the suspense with that ~dramatic ending~, but I will say read closely and you may be able to figure out who died and who didn't... The fate of the four tributes involved in this chapter will all be confirmed next chapter so you will have to wait and see!**

 **Alright at this point, sponsoring is *officially closed*. Thank you to everyone that sent any sponsor gifts over the course of this story! But now, it is time to leave the outcome of the tributes up to me *laughs evilly* I'm kidding, I like to think my plans aren't too evil, but hey, I guess we'll find out when we get there XD**

 **That's all I have to say for now as I anticipate there will be a lot more to say next chapter. See you soon with Night Six!**


	45. Night Six: Sick of Fickle Games

**Chapter 41:**

 _Night Six_

 _Odyssey Gunderson, 18, District Two_

Odyssey wakes up in a cold sweat, his body shaking as he runs his hand over his face, confirming that there isn't any metal there and it was all just a dream. No, not a dream, reality for Major…and a nightmare that won't stop haunting Odyssey. If it's not a nightmare where he's dying from that, he's suffocating under water or being stabbed in the gut. His own personalized nightmare pushing him further and further into guilt and regret.

It was just a nightmare…a nightmare based on things he's done… He's failed at following the advice Darach gave him. He just can't push aside the turmoil of feelings deep within him.

And Odyssey really just can't catch his breath, can't put himself back together yet. Everything that has happened haunts him when he shuts his eyes, forcing him to keep himself awake despite exhaustion weighing down on him. Somehow, he would rather face the nightmare of the arena than his actual nightmares. But only barely…

Odyssey pushes himself to sitting up again, having slide down the wall at one point when exhaustion overwhelmed him. He stares down at his hand, tears welling in his eyes right away at the bitter reminder of everything he has done. No matter what they might do to fix him up if he wins, he's always going to have some sort of reminder on his hand of what he did.

And he deserves that. He deserves to be haunted by the terrible decisions he made. His mind can justify killing Bell by blaming the Gamemakers. They forced the two of them to fight with only one allowed to get out of there alive. It was him or her. Which really doesn't make it that much easier.

But everything else…he just has himself to blame. He let his anger consume him and took out his pain and suffering on Major. And then he did it again with Fete. Neither of them truly deserved the death he gave them. He could have given them quick deaths and moved on, but he didn't.

Odyssey's ashamed of himself.

He goes to wipe away tears starting to fall down his cheek and flinches away from the touch of cool metal on his face. He doesn't think he'll ever get used to the new state of his dominant hand… Odyssey sighs as he puts the hand in his lap and it makes a noise when it hits a piece of his armor before reaching for the leftover pizza with his good hand. He must look so pitiful right now, sitting around moping and eating pizza. But what is he supposed to do?

Well, Odyssey knows what he's supposed to do and he's afraid of when he has to do that… Afraid that he's going to keep being the same angry person brutally killing instead of quickly ending things. He won't. He will force himself to not let his grief consume him…but later… He'll put that off as long as possible. Even though if he did go out and look for tributes, it would get him home sooner…

Everything is just moving too fast for him to keep up with right now. His brain is still trying to wrap around everything that happened to him in the last couple of days while the Games have kept moving on full steam ahead around him, leaving him in a small bubble of grief. Just look at everything from the past 24 hours. Four different cannons bringing them down to only _four_ tributes left already.

It's too damn fast for Odyssey. He isn't ready for things to end soon… The Games ending mean he will be forced to face the people he cares about and he's afraid for that, no matter what Kat said in her note. He's afraid his family won't love him the same anymore after what he did when he'll desperately need them. He wouldn't blame them if they don't, not after he did awful things. His friends will never understand this…they don't know the true hell that happens inside the arena, just the surface level of excitement that fills their District. And Misha… Odyssey simultaneously feels like he never wants to let Misha go and also doesn't deserve the victor.

But all of this requires actually getting out of this arena. It almost feels to him like the end is so far away, but it's not. Only three other tributes stand between him and victory. If he was the tribute everyone in Two expects of him, he would be out there hunting down his remaining opponents. But he's not. He's just wallowing in self-pity as he eats pizza – which he is sure some people have quite a few comments on his questionable pizza choices.

Is it wrong for him to want a bit more time on his own to just grieve everything? He'll get himself moving tomorrow… He'll _have_ to get himself moving since this pizza isn't lasting much longer. He feels so…so…so _pitiful_. He went from leader of the career pack to crippled and crying while eating pizza. From the best moments of his life in the Capitol to his lowest times that he hates himself for. He's never let his anger consume him like that before…

Odyssey can give himself one more night. Then…then he somehow has to pull himself back together just enough to get through the arena. He needs to just focus on now, one step at a time. How everyone reacts to him is a problem for the future, not a current problem.

"Okay, Odyssey, focus on right here and now," Odyssey whispers to himself, trying to get himself motivated once more. But his choice of words just brings fresh tears to his eyes as he remembers the stupid karaoke competition they had back in the Capitol and him being so dumb and blind to Bell's feelings. And then him realizing his feelings for Misha…

 _God_ , he wishes he could go back in time to then before all of this ever happened. Or better yet, before ever stupidly volunteering. If there's one thing Odyssey knows for certain he will do if he wins, that's going to be listening to his mother about any major life choices. He never would have ended up here if he just listened to her. But would he have Misha if he didn't volunteer? Does that even make all the heartbreak and regret worth it in the end?

 _Stop it, Odyssey. Focus on now._

Odyssey sighs before taking another big bite of pizza, chewing slowly and trying to bring his racing thoughts back to now. He just would rather be anywhere other than the arena…but he's the only one that is going to make that happen. That's the problem: figuring out how he is going to get out of this hellhole alive.

First he needs to know who is still alive. That will change how he goes about getting out of here. The four deaths present too much uncertainty for him with his useless hand. Last night at the anthem there were still three other careers left, none of which Odyssey wants to face in a fight. It's probably too much to hope the other three deaths outside the Trial by Combat were some of his former allies.

At least he has a 50% chance of knowing one of the deaths. But he could sit here and speculate all he wants, or just wait until the anthem plays, whenever that might be. Maybe his next step should be getting above ground again so he can actually know what time of day it is. Yeah, he'll do that tomorrow and see if there's any supplies at the cornucopia he can get. And then…well, he'll figure out the next step after he knows who is left.

Odyssey settles back, finishing up the slice of pizza before wiping his hand on the bed next to him, not caring at all about making a mess. His stomach doesn't feel as twisted by his grief now that he has somewhat of a plan for tomorrow – but that could also be because it's full with pizza. He stares at the wall across the room, not knowing what to do right this second aside from waiting…waiting and being miserable in his own thoughts.

How is he going to make it through these last three tributes, whoever they might be? He's broken…but it could be so much worse. Most of the damage is just emotional. He at least has one functioning hand that can use a knife almost as well as his dominant hand used to… And he has his sight, which is more than Anastacia and Demarcus. It's just Delta he's worried about…she's the best off of all the tributes left at the final eight.

Odyssey shuts his eyes tightly, trying to stop the trainwreck of thoughts about his chances of winning. He can still win…tributes have won with worse odds before… Just look at last year. If a thirteen year old with no skill could beat two careers in the finale, a broken career can still win this year.

The sound of the anthem makes Odyssey opens his eyes once more and he looks towards the wall, finding the Panem seal showing. He thought he would have more time before this…guess he fell asleep for longer than he thought. As he waits for the four faces to show, a pit of nerves begins to form in his stomach. Whoever is left…there's a good possibility that Odyssey will have to fight them. They could realistically call for the finale at any point now and Odyssey is nowhere near ready for that.

The first face has Odyssey drawing in a sharp breath of surprise. He didn't expect Anastacia to be dead…not when she was still allies with Delta. Maybe something happened to both of them… Maybe he will be lucky and the toughest opponent will be gone…even though as soon as he has that thought, he hates it, disgusted in himself for hoping certain people are dead. But what is he supposed to do? Only one of them is living through this and he has to make sure that's him…

Anastacia's face shifts to Amelia's and Odyssey presses his lips together, not sure how he feels about that. All he can think about is her poor family losing another child for the second year in the row… But he forces himself to remember that it is better her than him. He can't start feeling guilty too for tributes he didn't know. He already has more than enough guilt.

Odyssey only has a small moment to hope the next face will be Delta's so he doesn't have to face her eventually, but soon finds himself shutting his eyes, not wanting to look at the young face on the wall. He doesn't know how Davy made it this far, but…he's proud of the kid. And upset…he had seemed like a good kid when Odyssey talked to him at the party…

But now he's gone. Odyssey forces himself to look back at the wall, needing to know if the fourth death was Elias or Fox since it can't be Delta or Demarcus now. And soon enough, Davy's face is replaced by Fox, making Odyssey's stomach twist even more. Fox was a father…if people who deserved to win the Games actually won, he would have been at the top of the list. Or at least higher up than Odyssey.

Except that doesn't matter. Eighteen tributes are gone, yet Odyssey is still here. It probably won't be long until three more of them will also be gone…

Odyssey just can't let himself be one of them. He just can't. Somehow, he has to pull himself together for just a little bit longer and once he's out of this arena…then he can let himself completely fall apart.

* * *

 _Demarcus Pollock, 18, District Four_

The chance to stop the train of anxious thoughts has long since passed for Demarcus, leaving him frozen in fear and worry as he pretends he's sleeping near Elias curled up on the floor. Demarcus gave up his blanket a while ago after hearing Elias shivering, even if it meant making it harder for himself to sleep. What else was he supposed to do when the boy's source of warmth was the lion mutts that had shared the room before but never returned after the Trial by Combat? But his brain was already keeping him up so might as well let Elias get some sleep. Even just trying to sleep is causing him anxiety, a part of him concerned that they shouldn't both be off guard right now despite the three deaths this afternoon. All of the Games he's studied has shown that there is a good chance they will let the tributes rest now…but there are some exceptions to that…

Demarcus sighs as he rolls over, putting his back to Elias. The boy next to him is the biggest source of his anxiety… What is Demarcus doing with him? Why did he ally with someone this late in the Games – someone that's not even another career?

Because he doesn't want to be alone…yet he needs to realize that's going to happen a lot sooner than he likes. They're down to four already…two of the remaining tributes are his former allies and the third is currently his ally…

This concussion has severely confused Demarcus and his decision making.

He shouldn't have allied with Elias, should have just left when he had the chance because now it's too late for him to leave him. The only way their alliance is going to end is through one of their deaths. Or both… Demarcus really doesn't want to think about the option of them both dying, but he has to. There's no more denying at this point the end of the Games quickly approaching. They're down to four tributes. They had the finale last year with five tributes remaining so who's to say it won't happen soon?

Demarcus isn't ready to die… But his brain won't stop reminding him of all the disadvantages that he has that are making him an easy target. He's the only one left without his sight… Everyone else has lost their taste or smell, putting them at an advantage over him. He has this concussion that's clearly messing with his ability to make decisions, not to mention making his head spin every time he moves and the nausea he feels. Literally the only advantage Demarcus has right now is having Elias as his ally, and in the finale when it comes down to it, only one of them is getting out of there alive… Either Elias turns on him right away or Demarcus will have to fight him…

Demarcus lets out a whimper as he bites his tongue, trying his best to hold back his tears. He's petrified of what the outcome of these Games are going to be because everything in him is screaming that it won't be him, he won't be good enough to win against the three others that are still alive. He's going to let down his family when he's _so_ very close to the end…get their hopes up that it will be him just for them to come crashing down by someone else winning… Their mental states are already in a rough place… What would his death do to them? He's supposed to be helping them get the opportunity to better themselves by being in the Games, but what if he's just making everything worse?

Demarcus clamps a hand over his mouth as he hears rustling behind him and waits for Elias to settle back down to sleep. He doesn't want to explain to him all his fears, the crushing anxiety, the loss he might make his family experience. Not to someone he barely knows, not even to one of his former career allies…

But Elias doesn't go back to sleep, even though Demarcus is silently telling him to. Instead, he hears more movement behind him before his ally speaks up, "Demarcus?"

"Yeah?" Demarcus sighs at the wavering in Elias' voice and against his better judgement, rolls onto his back so he's not completely ignoring the boy.

"I cannot sleep," Elias says softly before sniffling a bit. "Can you?"

"No," Demarcus whispers with a shake of his head before turning his head so he's at least facing Elias, even if he can't actually see him. He lets out a sigh as he tries to figure out what to even tell Elias and how much to keep secret. "Just a lot to think about."

Elias sniffles once more, only making Demarcus feel worse about all of his thoughts. How can he even think about leaving him, let alone killing him? Why does he even care so much about someone he just formed an alliance with and hadn't talked to in the Capitol? Because Elias took care of him when he didn't have to. Kept him safe when he had the ability to kill him and Demarcus wouldn't have been able to do much to stop him. Elias is a better person than Demarcus is…Demarcus killed two people in the Games and when given the chance to kill him, Elias chose not to.

 _But Demarcus was just doing what he has to do for his family…_

"I am afraid," Elias starts slowly as his voice shakes in fear. Demarcus is actually glad in that moment that he can't see because he knows seeing Elias' face right now would probably drive him further down the path of not doing what is necessary in the Games. "I am afraid of becoming a monster but I am also afraid of death."

Demarcus shuts his eyes, fighting to hold in tears so Elias doesn't see them. The boy might not have intended for it, but he hit almost exactly the fears going through Demarcus right now. He doesn't want to die, yet it seems so likely at this point. He doesn't want to hurt or kill anyone else, especially people he got to know – including his own _District partner_ – yet that's the only way to prevent his death… A monster is exactly the word for what the victor of the Hunger Games becomes. "So am I…"

"I do not understand why you are afraid," Elias says with a bunch of movement and when he speaks again, he's speaking from above Demarcus, so he also pushes himself into a seated position. No point in trying to pretend he's asleep now. "You…volunteered for this."

"I did it for my family," Demarcus answers and with that, he finds himself telling Elias everything, his brain running wild and unable to put a filter on things. Not when he knows his family might be listening right now. Maybe they will understand if he explains…understand if he doesn't make it back alive. "I volunteered because if I win, I can finally afford to get all of us help that we have never been able to afford before. Not because I want to fight and kill, just…I want my family to get better."

"You have a family that actually cares about you. I do not know what that is like," Elias says through what sounds like tears. "You should be the one to get home alive. Not me."

Demarcus shakes his head at this and the tears he's been struggling to hold back all this time finally fall. "My brother screamed at me the whole time he said goodbye. My parents told me I was making a mistake. I've spent this whole time trying to undo what they told me and convince myself that I can get out of here alive, but I really don't know anymore…"

Elias is quiet for a long time and Demarcus tries to discretely wipe away his tears, but at least he can't see his ally's reaction to him crying. He never would have let any of the other careers see his tears – and there had been many times he was on the verge of crying when they were together. Demarcus starts to think that Elias won't say anything else when he speaks up, voice barely above a whisper. "My parents wanted me to volunteer someday," Elias starts slowly and Demarcus turns towards, him, surprised by this information. "They wanted to bring glory to District Six with a victor. All through my childhood they trained me to fight and that is how I lost my legs. They were injured too many times to heal properly."

"That's not…" Demarcus shakes his head in disbelief at the training methods. How could any parent do that to their child?! He thought his family life was bad at times but this…his life doesn't come close to what Elias has gone through. "That's not how training works in Four… No one has ever been injured like that before in training. That's just…that's so _wrong._ "

"It is what my childhood was like," Elias says through sobs and he pauses talking for a while, leaving Demarcus unsure what to even do for him. Does he try to comfort him? Just let him be? He barely knows him…yet here they are sharing these details about their lives… "I do not want to be the monster they were training me to be. That is why I do not want to hurt anyone…"

"Except we have to if we want to get out of here alive," Demarcus finishes for Elias, understanding what he's feeling. "I understand, Elias. And…thank you for sharing that," Demarcus whispers to Elias as he lays back down, trying to turn away before Elias can see the expression on his face. Elias deserves the chance to have a better life after years of his family forcing him to train to the point of being physically injured. Yet Demarcus stands in the way of that happening because he's trying to get a better life for his own family.

Hearing all of that…just makes Demarcus even more afraid for when these Games will end. It seems like everyone else deserves to win more than he does…

* * *

 _Delta Zale, 17, District Four_

Delta groans as she puts a hand to her head, trying to stop the pounding in it. Her throat is tight as she tries to swallow, her mouth completely parched. She slowly opens up her eyes and has to blink a few times to clear them before finding stars looking down at her. She lays there for a few minutes, studying the stars above her, and the tiniest smile forms as she recognizes some of the same ones that she can see at night from District Four, reminding her of nights laying on the beach with her dad pointing them out to her. But her smile soon starts to shift to a frown when she slowly starts to realize that it's night time… It was midday last thing she remembers…

Delta sits up quickly and the world spins around her and she has to shut her eyes for a moment to prevent herself from vomiting all over. How is it night time already?! Just how long has she been out for? And _why_ was she out that long…?

Delta slowly opens her eyes once more, searching around her to find some sort of clue as to what happened to her, her memories of the day foggy… There were two cannons…the boy from Five. And wolves… She looks down at her hands, finding the flesh torn by bites from the wolves as she tried to protect her face from them. But why were they attacking her? She was fighting, doing exactly what she is supposed to be doing in this arena. She's been doing that the best, so why would the Gamemakers punish her for it?

She doesn't know the answer right now and starts reaching around her for her bag, only when her hands turn up empty does she remember dropping it before running in to the fight. Delta groans as she tries to stand up, before deciding on just crawling over to the cornucopia. There should be some supplies left there… At least, she hopes so because whatever knocked her out has drained all of her energy and left her legs heavy and weak.

Delta pauses for a moment, her brain working overtime to try and remember just what had knocked her out. Whatever it was sure kicked her in the ass. But also might have saved her life… "The fog…" Delta whispers to herself, searching for some sort of canister where the poison would have come from like when they poisoned Anastacia. But there's nothing. Just large patches of disturbed sand that look similar to the area where she lay.

Does it even matter what happened to her? What matters is she was just knocked out for _hours_ and was unharmed. Well…maybe she wouldn't say unharmed with the nausea and dehydration she's feeling. Her brain can at least push her to keep moving towards the cornucopia and she lets out a huge sigh of relief when the supplies they left behind are still there. She greedily grabs a bottle of water and can't restrain herself from chugging it, ending up spilling a bunch onto herself. She drops it to the side and leans back against the cornucopia, groaning at her stomach still threatening to release its contents.

"Fucked me up good there," Delta mutters to herself as she shakes her head before the action makes her feel worse. She shuts her eyes and focuses on taking slow deep breaths, anything to stop her from thinking about the pounding in her head or her twisting stomach. "Fucked me up _real_ good."

Whatever they did to her…well someone could walk right up to her now and she wouldn't be able to defend herself as much as normal. Which really should make her more concerned right now, but honestly all her brain can focus on right now is not vomiting.

Delta keeps her eyes shut for a long time, just slowly breathing and willing whatever poison they used on her to get out of her system already. Eventually her stomach starts to settle and she slowly opens her eyes again, glad to find the world no longer spins around her. But she still waits a bit longer until searching through the supplies and tearing open a small packet of nuts. One by one, she pops them in her mouth, taking minutes to chew each individual one and waiting even longer between each one, just to make sure they're not going to immediately come back up.

When the packet is finally empty, Delta sips some more water – without spilling any on herself this time – before shutting her eyes and sighing, finally starting to feel a bit closer to normal. Yet what even is normal anymore when in the arena?

She doesn't get the chance to find out before fanfare begins to play in the arena and Delta quickly sits up, eyes wide open as she reaches for any weapon nearby, searching for whatever threat is out there. But there's not a single movement out in the arena, just darkness from the slowly lightening sky.

"Good evening, tributes, or, I suppose, good morning. This is Head Gamemaker Lukianas speaking. This message is only being broadcast to you in the arena right now…" Seraphim pauses for a moment, setting Delta on edge as she waits for him to continue. It's never the Head Gamemaker making announcements…and if he's making one now, surely it's not good.

"As you surely have noticed, there are only four tributes remaining at this point. This was not my intention but there have been some…unexpected things occurring that have sped the process along faster than any of us wanted. Unfortunately, we must continue this. That being said, tomorrow will be the finale. You will be brought below the arena first to receive armor and your weapon of choice. I apologize for how fast this is going…but you deserve to have at least the notice to prepare. May the odds be ever in your favor and I look forward to crowning a victor."

Only four of them left? Was she the only one that got out of that fight earlier…? She must have been. Even in her befuddled state of mind, she can at least do that simple math. The fanfare ends, leaving her in eerie silence and without any excitement… The announcement doesn't get her itching for one last big fight. Doesn't spark the rage in her that has gotten her this far in the Games. Instead her stomach starts to roll – and not just from the remnants of whatever they used to knock her out. It builds slowly up in her stomach, rising through her and making her heart start beating faster and her throat tightens. She looks down in surprise when she finds her hands shaking and she quickly clasps them together, trying to stop everyone from seeing it. She soon turns her gaze out to the arena surrounding her, and it takes a few minutes for her to finally place the emotion coursing through her, setting her on edge for what's to come. She hasn't felt something like this in a long time…not since the moment she last saw her father alive as he left them for his final mission…

Fear.

…Why is she afraid right now? Come _on_ , she should be ecstatic and prepping for one last fight right now. Adrenaline should be pumping through her veins, getting her ready to take down three more tributes and take the title of victor for herself. She should be happy that they are calling for the finale now and ending this. She's one step closer to winning the Games for the Capitol.

Yet she wants to just stay here for hours and not move. She doesn't want to bring herself to fight just yet…because she doesn't know for sure how this will end for her. She had thought up until earlier that day that she was the obvious pick for victor – she had won a Trial by Combat, she had both her sight and hearing, she's made plenty of kills. But then things changed…or she realized things that have been going on this whole time…

No matter everything Delta has done and will do, it's not just her making decisions about the Games. Head Gamemaker Lukianas all but confirmed her suspicions earlier…the rebels are interfering in the arena.

Why can't they just leave her alone? They already took the person that mattered the most to them. Can't they just give her this? Just let the Games play out on their own and let her do her best to win? And they killed Anastacia…probably caused her to be knocked out earlier and killed Amelia and Fox… What's even the point?

That's when Delta's brain finally starts to piece together the source of her fear. She might have done everything she possibly could to win these Games…but it might not even be enough. Not if the rebels are interfering… Just how much control do they have in the arena? Are they going to have the ability to mess with the finale? Can she even stop them from doing that?

Delta's afraid of them taking away the one thing that she's been working on and has actually made her feel like she has something worth fighting for… Taking it away when she's so close to reaching it.

* * *

 _Amelia Fensa, 18, District Three_

Amelia slowly comes to consciousness again and the first thing she notices is that she can't see, immediately waking her up further and making her start squirming. But when she can't move her arms to reach up to what is covering her head, she starts screaming as she fights the grip on her. "Let me go!"

"Quiet!" Someone says in her ear as they pull her to a stop. They rip off the bag and Amelia squints at the sudden change in lights, but soon starts shaking in fear when she doesn't recognize where she is or the two people holding her captive. "Let's get them in the cells."

"Cells? Them?" Amelia questions as she looks around, finding someone else slumped between two people and when the bag gets pulled off his head, she cries out right away. "Fox!"

"Fox!" Another person yells out and Amelia looks around, finding herself standing in a hallway between jail cells and in one of them is Adam. He steps closer to the bars, tears forming in his eyes as he stares at Fox groaning and slowly starting to move. "No…"

"What's going on?" A girl shouts at them and Amelia looks to the other side and finds…Anastacia? Amelia cringes away from the career turning her head around as if she still can't see…and that's when Amelia realizes she can't feel the hands on her arms.

They still don't have their senses… A shiver of fear runs down Amelia's spine at this realization. What's going on?

"Get back from the doors," the man who's clearly in charge yells at Anastacia and Adam. He points to the back of the cell for Adam before glaring at Anastacia as she stands in front of the doors, her arms crossed in defiance. "If you want to stay in a jail cell until your parents get here, please, be my guest."

The door to Anastacia's cell is opened and as the career makes a move towards them, Amelia is shoved into Anastacia and they both fall to the floor. Amelia cries out and barely has time to stop her head from hitting the floor. Before she even sits up, the door is slammed shut, trapping her in there with one of the careers. Across from them, Fox is in the cell with Adam who is hugging him as he cries.

"What's going on?" Amelia asks the man in charge as he looks down at them, but he just ignores her and walks away from them. Amelia grabs onto the bars and tugs on them, shouting after them, "Don't leave us here!"

"Don't waste your breath," Anastacia says with a groan and Amelia looks back at the career and as she sits up, Amelia presses herself into the wall as far from Anastacia as possible. "They have some sort of grand plan and nothing we do is going to stop them. At least they gave me company… Also who are you? I can't put a face to the voice."

"Amelia," she answers Anastacia quietly and when the career tilts her head as if she didn't hear, she clears her throat and speaks louder. "It's Amelia…and what is going on? Where are we?"

"Welcome to beautiful District Seven," Anastacia waves her hand around the cell. "If you look to your left, we have blackness, and on your right we have some _more_ blackness because these assholes couldn't even figure out how to turn off our trackers without damaging the controls for our senses. I would say ask Adam to tell you what Seven is really like, but he can't hear us."

"Wh-why is Anastacia here?" Fox asks from the other cell as he hugs Adam back. His own tears are forming in his eyes as he turns back to Adam, "Oh God, I thought I lost you. I…I'm so sorry for not protecting you."

"They told me all sorts of things while I was paralyzed before they realized I wasn't a rebel like my parents," Anastacia tells the two of them as she moves to the side of the cell to lean up against the wall. She pulls her hair to the side and starts undoing her braid just to rebraid it as she keeps talking. "My parents hacked into the Games operating system and gave the rebels their way in to mess with the Games in exchange for _rescuing_ me," Anastacia drops her braid to add air quotes and her face twists in annoyance. "I didn't need rescuing, I wanted to win the damn Games. But anyways, I guess you have my parents to blame for this, sorry about that. But don't worry, I'm just as pissed off at them as I'm sure you are."

"Why…why are you in a cell then?" Amelia asks the career as she stands up to start looking around the cell to see if there might be anything to get them out of here.

"And did you say rebels?" Fox asks, turning his gaze away from Adam to finally look closely at Amelia. Amelia doesn't meet his gaze, ashamed at herself for being ready to kill him…but she thought there was no other option. She didn't know that there were rebels waiting to kidnap them and…do what with them, she doesn't know… But at least they are alive…right? The Capitol must be trying to find them… Yes, President Xavier will surely be trying to find them.

"I fought back against them so they threw me in here," Anastacia answers and Amelia turns back to the career in time to see her shrug. "Figured some time in a jail cell would get me to see their ways or something. But I think now they just figure they'll keep me here so I don't cause trouble until my parents arrive and help me see the light."

"But you can't see," Amelia points out, surprising herself that she's joking around with a career. But this whole situation is just whack and she doesn't know what to do right now, let alone what to think about her new cell mate. She's a _career_ , after all.

"Exactly," Anastacia says with a laugh before shaking her head. She lets out a sigh and turns her head in Amelia's general direction as she starts to frown. "Look, I'm just as unhappy as you are to be kidnapped by rebels. I had a life plan that just got thrown out the window by my parents thinking they know what's best for me. So I think we need to work together here, regardless of the fact that just a day ago I was intent on killing you so I could be victor."

"Gee thanks," Amelia says quietly as she takes a step back from Anastacia, not quite trusting the career. "I'll keep that in mind when sleeping."

"Amelia…" Fox says quietly and Amelia pretends to look around anywhere but at Fox. But he soon clears his throat and Amelia makes the mistake of looking over at him. She hates the look on his face and the fact that he's not angry at her when he should be. Part of her is mad at herself. "I don't blame you at all. For leaving…for being ready to fight…"

"But you should," Amelia answers him, shaking her head as she turns away from him. Somehow, spending time with a career is more enjoyable right now than facing her former ally.

Amelia moves to sit next to Anastacia and the career turns in her direction, "What drama did I miss in the Games?"

"Trial by Combat," Amelia says with a big sigh. "After being allies for a bit."

"Hmm, bummer," Anastacia answers with a shrug. "Hey, at least you're both still alive though. Worked out better for you two than Odyssey and Bell."

"Odyssey and Bell? Did they…are there…" Amelia starts, looking around at the cells that they're in. "Are there any others that they kidnapped?"

"Tributes?" Anastacia asks before shaking her head. "No, just us. But other people…"

"She's referring to me."

Amelia jumps at the new voice and leans closer to the bars of the cell to see who is there. Across from her, Fox does the same to try and see the person moving in the cell next to him. Amelia gasps in surprise at the appearance of Council Member Luciano as they drag themself forward. They try to smile at Amelia, but their bottom lip is cracked and swollen. "Surprise."

"What happened? How did they get you?" Amelia asks and Luciano lets out a humorless laugh. "And what do they want from us?"

"They want to stop the Games, of course," Luciano shakes their head. "And we are their bargaining chips. They know they don't have enough to get their way alone without a war."

"Why us though? We're nothing special…" Amelia asks them, fear finally starting to rise in her now that the shock of all of this is wearing off and she's realizing that she is being held prisoner in District Seven and no one knows where she is or maybe even that she's still alive. "And how do you know this?"

"You haven't seen the polls, you're quite popular and liked. The university student and the father. And," Luciano pauses as they lean against the bars of their cell and let out a groan of pain. "I've spent years working with them as a double agent for the Capitol until they caught me. Their plan has always been to stop the Games but now…now I have no idea what they are doing. For all of our sakes, you better hope that President Xavier acts out his plan first or we're going to have a rebellion in our hands."

* * *

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

Seraphim pauses just before the doorway into the mentor's lounge, a little terrified to be facing the group of victors. Not for the silly reasons he had months ago, but because he has to break the news to them of what is happening with the Games. He has to tell them that the rebels have infiltrated the Games and have ruined things he has been working on for years but more importantly, threatening the peace that is in their country. Seraphim doesn't even care that much anymore that they're interfering with his Games. He just cares about not seeing a war happen. He has too many people he cares about now to have them in danger…his mother, Zephyr, Ophelia, Laelia and all his Gamemakers. He just wants them safe…

And that means breaking the news to a bunch of victors that the Head Gamemaker doesn't have full control of the Hunger Games. No way this will go poorly, not at all.

Seraphim lets out a sigh and Zephyr reaches out to take his hand, giving it a comforting squeeze. "You can do this," Zephyr tells him quietly, but Seraphim really doesn't believe him.

"Just stop anyone from trying to punch me, please," Seraphim answers quietly before getting up whatever courage he has left and opening up the door to the room. As he steps in, silence starts to fall slowly across the group as some notice him and look over in his direction, making the others curious about what they're looking at. Seraphim tries to smile at the mentors as he walks to the front of the room, hands behind his back, and he stops in front of the screens to address all of them. "Hello everyone. I…know this is rather unexpected and unusual for me to come to this room, but there is important information that I must tell you about now."

"Are you going to explain what that bullshit was today in the Trial by Combat?" Astrid asks before giving Seraphim the chance to start explaining things and he cringes at her glare as she sits next to Clark, hand protectively gripping the youngest victor's shoulder.

"I-"

"Or what about putting Bell and Odyssey against each other?" Kat brings up next and Seraphim gives a pleading look to Zephyr, but he's standing back and avoiding Kat's sharp gaze too, clearly also afraid of the victor.

"Don't forget the fake sponsor gift to Anastacia," Thetis says bitterly as she crosses her arms at Seraphim.

The three women questioning him just opens up the flood gates to the rest of the victors questioning him about everything going on in the Games so far and Seraphim quickly understands why he avoids the mentors at all cost during the Games. He takes a step back and pleadingly looks up at Zephyr, feeling way out of his element here. Zephyr notices the look and puts a hand on Seraphim's shoulder, gently pushing him behind the victor as he steps forward to yell at the mentors, "Everybody quiet! I know you're angry and I understand – trust me, some of the things Seraphim has done I also don't agree. But this is a matter of national security so if you could stop your bickering for five fucking minutes, that would be great," Zephyr takes the time to glare at all 24 mentors individually – well, not quite a glare at his fellow District Two victors and very quickly looking at Emilio – just daring any of them to speak up now. When they all stay quiet, Zephyr turns back to Seraphim and gives him an encouraging smile as he pats his shoulder, "All yours."

"Thanks," Seraphim says quietly to Zephyr before clearing his throat and taking a step closer to all the mentors. He takes the time to look at all of them before he begins, wanting them all to take this seriously. "I will answer your questions to the best of my ability, but I just ask that you please don't yell and curse at me. To start, I want to apologize for some of the recent events that have occurred in the Games. Some of the things…were not in our control. We have reason to believe that rebels have hacked into our system and have been manipulating parts of the Games."

Seraphim waits a moment for this to sink in, watching some of the victors grow afraid at this information, as they should. But one face stands out, the man scowling with his arms crossed and feet up on the table in front of him. "You've known about their involvement since the very start," Stefan says slowly, moving his feet so he can sit up and lean closer to Seraphim. "Yet you have not done anything to stop them."

Many of the victors look at Stefan in confusion and Letha is the first one to question him. She wipes away tears from her eyes and sniffles as she looks at the victor, "What do you mean, Stefan?"

Stefan shrugs at Seraphim, who sighs at the victor. "Would you like to tell them Head Gamemaker or should I?"

"I'll tell them," Seraphim answers quietly, sighing once more at having to explain all of his failures as Head Gamemaker this year. Zephyr puts a comforting hand on his back and Seraphim gives him a brief smile, but it soon fades away when he turns back to the others. "The rebels have been interfering since the bloodbath when they faked Adam's death to take him out of the arena thinking he was still pregnant with the child of one of their own. He was not as he had an emergency delivery in the Capitol before the Games. Also while discussing District Seven, I should apologize for guaranteeing Ho- Carameuse's death as she was a known rebel."

"So why didn't they try to save her too?" Glen asks, disappointment on his face at the confirmation that the Gamemakers planned his tribute's death.

Seraphim just shrugs in response, not knowing that information. "We don't know."

"But was District Two's Trial by Combat planned?" Glacia asks him and Seraphim nods his head slowly, trying to avoid looking at the District Two victors.

"Yes, and Zephyr already gave me an earful for that so please don't yell at me for something in the past," Seraphim answers quickly, glancing up at them to see the three victors looking disappointed, but they at least stay quiet.

"Was it planned before or after Major's scheming?" Emilio speaks up and Thetis elbows him, clearly thinking this isn't that important of a question. He shrugs at his fellow mentor, "What, he said we could ask questions and I'm curious."

"Yes, but maybe it's more important to be asking questions about the security threat," Thetis answers Emilio before turning back to Seraphim. "The Head Gamemaker has his reasons for things and we don't have to know everything."

"I agree with Thetis," Okeanas adds, arms crossed as she glares past Seraphim and at the screens where both tributes from Four remain. "I want to know if there's anything that's going to put our chances of winning at risk. Or more than you already have by sending mutts to attack her after she was just doing what she's supposed to in the arena."

"Yeah about that," Seraphim says with a nervous chuckle when both Okeanas and Muir fix him with sharp looks, making him hold his hands up defensively. "Nothing I did, this is all Delta. She…is a former rebel turned loyalist who has helped turn in rebels so if they know that – which we think they do…yeah, I didn't give the command for the mutts to attack her. The fog of knock out gas was me though to get the mutts down."

Muir and Okeanas share a look at this and Muir sighs as she gets up and heads over to the bar, grabbing two drinks for them. "So what you're saying is they might try to stop her from winning?"

"We're doing our best to put in every security measure to stop them from any further interference for the finale," Seraphim tries to reassure them – and Kat and Dampero since their tributes will also be competing. "But we don't know if we can stop them for sure which is why we're ending these Games now before anyone else can get taken."

"Anyone else?" Pinova speaks up, looking around nervously and also a bit hopefully at this, only making Seraphim feel bad that he's going to crush her hopes. "Others were taken?"

"Yes," Seraphim answers, sighing once more as he looks at the District One mentors first. "Anastacia was taken when the rebels used the poison gas to fake her death. Then Amelia and Fox," Seraphim looks at Isidore and Johan respectively, before waiting for them to react to this information.

"Well what can we do to help get them back?" Johan says carefully, looking around at his fellow mentors. "If they're still alive, we should be rescuing them. Right?"

"Good luck finding them," Stefan tells them with a scoff and shake of his head.

"You seem to know quite a lot about the rebels, Stefan," Fonio speaks up for surprisingly the first time, looking exhausted as he sits at the bar. "Just a little sketchy."

This sets Stefan off and he jumps up from his seat, pointing at Fonio in accusation. "When you're dating someone who's family has been Capitol spies in Seven for years, you learn some things about the rebels. Don't you _dare_ imply that I am with the rebels or I will cut off your dick and make you wear it on a necklace."

"Okay there, buddy, let's calm down," Zephyr says as he steps over to Stefan and puts a hand on his shoulder to push him back down into his seat. But he's left Seraphim all alone and he nervously looks around at the other victors, just a tad worried by the looks he's getting from some of them. Zephyr turns back to Seraphim, gesturing for him to continue.

"Yes," Seraphim clears his throat to continue after that…colorful threat that has actually made Clark snicker to himself, looking a bit less depressed for the first time since Seraphim has entered. His snickering makes Astrid start struggling to hold back her own laughter at Fonio being threatened and Seraphim just shakes his head at the two of them acting like children and chooses to ignore them. "We have some information on the rebels from one of our spies and we're narrowing down where the tributes are being held right now. Then we're going to get them back."

"And what happens when you find them?" Thetis asks and a few nod their heads in agreement to this question. "Do they get to come back home? Will they be considered a victor or will they be put in another fight since they never finished the Games?"

"We'll figure out what happens once we have the back alive," Seraphim answers, dodging the question since he doesn't quite know the answer to it. That's a question for the President to answer. "They're no longer tributes, but prisoners."

The victors grow serious once more at this statement, some of them realizing the severity of this situation. Zephyr returns to his side, putting a hand protectively on his shoulder as Seraphim addresses all of them. "We'll keep you all updated on the status of the kidnapped tributes. Just…please trust us that we're doing everything we can. And…I am sorry for any issues this may cause, but I have to inform you all that you will not be able to leave the Capitol immediately after the Games are over for security reasons," Seraphim tells them quickly, just waiting for the negative reaction to this news. "We're going to keep you locked down in this building to ensure your safety."

And the first person to speak up is one he least expected, which only makes him feel terrible. "I have to get home to my son," Letha says as fresh tears are forming in her eyes. "He needs me after losing Davy. My family needs me home."

"And what about the safety of the escorts?" Pinova asks in concern. "Are they going to be safe too? Can we go to them?"

"Yes, the escorts are going to be locked down here too until we know no one involved in the Games is at risk. You will be free to move about this building," Seraphim answers Pinova first, knowing she's the easier one to respond to. Then he turns to Letha and sighs at the victor's tears. "I'm really sorry, Letha, but you can't leave. We're trying to keep you all safe – and we are increasing the Peacekeeper presence in all Victor's Villages to protect your families and the other victors there."

"So we have to just sit and wait?" Glen asks and a few give their agreement to this question. "Wait and hope that things will be safe for us and not knowing if those back home are safe? What about our partners?"

"Yes, Glen. I know it's not the answer you want, but it's the truth," Seraphim tells him, making the victor pull up his legs to his chest and wrapping his arms around them. "There has been talk about getting the other victors out of Seven, though…but I don't know that for sure so don't quote me."

"What about whoever ends up winning?" Dampero asks, clearly concerned and growing hopeful for Elias' odds. "Are they going to be safe too as victor?"

Seraphim nods his head at this question, even though he honestly doesn't know the answer to it. "We're doing our best to make sure the victor is safe. And then we're doing everything we can to find the other four tributes. Are there any other questions?"

"Yeah I have a question," Fonio speaks up and a few victors groan in anticipation of whatever he is going to ask. "Is District Two going to win because Zephyr's sucking your dick?"

Seraphim's face immediately starts flushing at this and he starts coughing as he tries to clear his throat, trying to avoid Zephyr's gaze. "I- that is not a relevant question. Um, no, the victor is not going to be decided based on who I am dating."

Seraphim finally gives a nervous glance over at Zephyr to find him with his arms crossed as he glares over at Fonio, "Stefan, I won't stop you if you want to make a dick necklace for him."

"Right!" Seraphim says quickly as he looks at anyone but Fonio. He grabs Zephyr's arm and tries to start pulling him out of here before anything else embarrassing can happen. Leave it to Fonio to ask inappropriate questions when there's a national security threat. "If there's no other questions, we're going to get back to preparing for the finale. I'll see you all soon with our newest victor."

* * *

 **Now that we have seen the outcome of last chapter, first:**

 **Eulogies:**

 _Davy Emmerich [5], Ranked 6th, Killed by Delta [4]:_

 _I always knew that Davy's death was going to be one of the deaths that hurt me the most to write and I put it off for a while because I just wasn't ready to say goodbye to him. I've loved Davy from the start when Dreamer and I first started talking about him (be glad we went with this and not the original idea of one of Letha's sons lol). He's such a sweet boy doing his best to be brave and live up to the expectations of his family. He was one of those characters that just always wrote easily for me as you could probably tell from his Games POVs. He did so much in the arena and tried his best, but sometimes that isn't enough to win, especially with how many older tributes he had to face. Dreamer - thank you so much for sending me this very valid boy even when we knew it would wreck our feels to have two valid boys from you in this story! I've loved every minute of writing him, even the times when I cried. RIP Davy._

 **I'm not even sorry about the word count on this chapter lol. We had a lot of people to check in with because yes, next chapter is the finale! I have it written already so I can give you an exact date for when it will be up: Friday, February 14th, probably around 8-9 ish pm EST!**

 **I really can't believe we're already reaching the finale for this story! It's felt like such a long time but also very fast at the same time. Of course, there's going to be a few chapters after the Games are done for subplot, so we still have some time before the story itself is over.**

 **So one last time I would like to hear your predictions on who the victor will be: Odyssey, Delta, Demarcus, or Elias?** **I'm so incredibly excited to reach the finale next chapter and finally get to reveal who the victor is! It's just going to be a long two weeks waiting lol.**

 **I will see you all on February 14th!**


	46. Day Seven: The Last War

**Chapter 42:**

 _Day Seven_

 _Seraphim Lukianas, Head Gamemaker_

Time slowly ticks by, getting closer and closer to the start of the end. A tense air fills not only the hovercraft where Seraphim sits waiting, but also the arena below him. For the first time ever in his time as a Gamemaker…Seraphim isn't excited about the finale. Too much uncertainty in the air with the rebels, too many opportunities for them to interfere despite the Gamemaker team doing everything to lock down access into the arena. In theory, the only device controlling the arena right now should be the tablet in Seraphim's hands.

 _In theory._

But the pit in his stomach says otherwise, no matter how much the security team or Laelia or even Zephyr tries to reassure him that this will go smoothly. He doesn't even care anymore about it going smoothly, he just cares about ending these Games without starting a war and with a victor. That reason alone is why he watches the final moments of the tributes alone on screens inside the hovercraft sitting above the fighting pit, waiting for the precise moment there is a victor to grab them before the rebels can even think about taking them.

Five screens sit in front of Seraphim. One is a secure video call with the Games Headquarters where Laelia nervously frets about, but is doing a good job keeping the others in line as the finale approaches, reassuring him that someday she will do well as Head Gamemaker.

The other four monitors display each of the tributes in their last moments before the finale. Two of them show a similar view for now, focused on Elias and Demarcus as they sit quietly eating some of the food Demarcus has shared, but the heart rates at the bottom of each screen show just how nervous they both are. One shows Delta in the area just below them, sitting in front of the cornucopia and slowly drinking water as she continuously looks around her, trying to give off the air of being relaxed but her tension is visible in her shoulders. And the fifth shows Odyssey as he sits next to a bathtub running water, his face in his good hand to hide his face from the cameras as he prepares himself for this last fight and whispers to himself, the water drowning out the words and making the country unable to hear what he's saying. Each tribute screen is split up, showing Seraphim the live feed of them, their heart rate, and their vitals so he'll know the exact moment to fire the cannons.

"Who do you think it will be?" Zephyr asks him quietly from where he sits just behind Seraphim, close enough to be there for him if he needs him, but letting him have his space to do his job.

"I really don't know," Seraphim answers honestly as he swivels in his chair to face Zephyr. He glances back over his shoulder at the screens, taking another look at the tributes before facing Zephyr once more and shrugging, "Who knows? It could be any of them. If Demarcus and Elias work together and actually fight, they could take down Delta and Odyssey. If not, well, maybe it would be one of the other two, but Delta seems…off, and Odyssey can't use his ranged weapon. There's too many factors to make a good guess with four tributes left."

Laelia clears her throat and Seraphim turns his chair back around to face Laelia in front of her screen, looking at Seraphim with a nervous expression. "Seraphim, we're all set on our end. The rooms are prepped with their armor and choice of weapons, and the doctors are waiting in the operating room here for when the victor arrives. And Magnus is still pouting that you took his mutts away."

"I'm not pouting!" Magnus shouts from the lower level of the Games Headquarters and Laelia shakes her head at him, fighting back a smile.

Normally their antics would have Seraphim laughing, but not today. Not when they have a victor to crown before anything else goes wrong. "Very well. Start the fanfare and have Kora give them the announcement."

Seraphim sits back as he watches the tributes as the fanfare begins in the arena, signaling the start of the finale. "Good morning, tributes!" Kora's voice enters the arena. Delta stands up right away, gripping her spear in front of her tightly. Odyssey picks his head up, revealing red tearstained eyes that he wipes away quickly before shutting off the water to hear her better. Elias' face pales as he looks around and Demarcus' shoulders slump, looking resigned to what is about to happen. "It is time to begin the finale of the Sixth Quarter Quell! In just a moment, you will be brought down below the arena to receive your armor and take your pick of any weapon to use before you will be brought back into the fighting pit surrounding the cornucopia. There will be a force field surrounding that area, so please do not make any attempt to run from this fight. Best of luck and may the odds be ever in your favor."

As the fanfare resumes once more to end the announcement, Seraphim directs his team, "Bring them down below."

Delta and Odyssey don't react much to the sensation of being frozen in place to get brought below, having already experienced this for their Trials by Combat. But Demarcus starts breathing faster and muttering to himself, clearly on the verge of a panic attack, while Elias looks like he might start crying at any point.

"Some finale we might have," Zephyr mutters to himself as the tributes are brought into separate prep rooms and their stylists begin the process of preparing them. "Do any of them want to even fight?"

"They will fight," Seraphim reassures himself and Zephyr as half the tributes have their armor checking and any damaged pieces replaced, while the other half are given their armor for the first time. He can thank Lisia for the armor idea, having studied her Quell in great detail when preparing for his own and he is glad he made this decision. It will be a fight for the ages – four tributes all trained to fight, wearing beautiful – and practical – armor, and given any weapon to fight with.

Just as long as they actually fight. Which he really doesn't know if they will. Maybe he should bring back in the mutts...but he still has hope they will fight.

"Bring in the weapon racks," Seraphim directs once the armor is set for the four tributes.

In each room, quite the intense collection of weapons is brought in, each tribute having a different design and look to match their armor – gleaming gold for Odyssey, deep sea blue for Delta and Demarcus, and sleek dark gray for Elias. Delta is the first to make her choice, immediately going for the spear. Odyssey steps forward next, examining the selection of different knives and testing out a few in his hand before settling on a medium length knife. Demarcus asks the stylists to hand him the spear. Elias takes the longest to decide, continuously looking between his hands and the rack of weapons before hesitantly speaking up, "May I have blades attached to my prostheses?"

The stylist looks confused by the request and glances around the room, clearly searching for Gamemaker approval. Seraphim pulls up audio to the room and speaks to them, "Go ahead."

Seraphim watches with an eyebrow raised as two thin blades are attached to the side of each of his prostheses, curious about the request. Zephyr lets out a low whistle behind him and Seraphim glances back at him for a moment. "If he fights with those, good luck to the others."

"The others are careers," Seraphim reminds Zephyr as he turns back to the screens, watching as the stylist finishes up with Elias. The boy stands up hesitantly and takes a few steps around the room, testing out the prostheses with the attachment, wobbling a little at first but soon getting his balance. "I think we're ready to go."

Seraphim takes a deep breath, trying to slow down his quickly beating heart as he switches on the audio control to all of the prep rooms. "Tributes, please enter the launch tubes."

All four tributes hesitate for a moment at the announcement, before Odyssey lets out a sigh and makes the first move into the launch tube, followed very shortly by Delta. Demarcus is directed towards the tube and slowly enters, and Elias is the last one to enter, tears finally falling down his cheeks. The tubes shut around them, and then it's time to start the finale.

"Let's bring them up and get this over with."

The tributes are slowly brought back up, soon in darkness as they are pushed to the ground level of the arena from down below. Soon they will have their victor.

But as soon as the tributes are in the fighting pit, it's clear that they did not have everything secured from the rebels.

"Where's Elias?" Seraphim shouts at the screens as only three tributes are brought into the fighting pit. "What happened to him?"

"I don't know!" Laelia says as they try to pull up the video feed for Elias. He was there in the tube, but then in the darkness, a buffering… "It looks like it's looped, hang on."

"Fire a cannon for him and we will figure it out later," Seraphim commands them, realizing they have much bigger problems to deal with. And that means getting the victor crowned and out of there as soon as possible.

 _Boom._

In the arena, the three remaining tributes are a disaster. Delta screams from her launch spot, rubbing her eyes and ears as she yells around, "What's happening to me?!" She soon starts scratching the skin on her face, causing bloody streaks on it that she's unable to feel.

"Sir, her senses have all been knocked out," Laelia tells him and Seraphim's eyes widen in panic. None of them should have had the ability to have their senses taken away, more than the one they lost at the start.

"Well switch them back on!" Seraphim yells at them as he realizes that Delta's senses weren't the only ones changed. Demarcus is staring right at Delta, blinking in confusion as he can see once more. Odyssey is frowning as he looks back and forth between the District Four pair, before searching around the area for Elias. "Why can Demarcus see? Did they do anything to Odyssey?"

"It doesn't seem like it," Laelia answers him, her voice quiet with fear and confusion. Why would they leave him alone but mess with Delta and Demarcus? Delta, he can understand given her past. But Demarcus? Why grant him back his sight for the finale? Does he have some secret rebel connection none of them know about?

Seraphim's heart is racing as the tributes stay put, confusion keeping Demarcus and Odyssey in place and Delta unable to see or hear anything about her surroundings. Seraphim jumps when Elias' screen is brought back to real time and shows Elias screaming in his room as people in Peacekeeper armor are trying to drag him away before quickly getting cut off as a needle is jabbed into his neck, knocking him unconscious. "Shit…"

"Seraphim," Zephyr says coolly as he puts a hand tightly on Seraphim's shoulder. The Head Gamemaker is frozen in place by fear, trying to understand just what is happening right now. "You need to end these Games _now_."

"Right…" Seraphim says slowly, his brain unable to focus on what is happening until Zephyr not so gently shakes his shoulder. "Right, yes," Seraphim clears his throat as he glances at the video feed to the Games Headquarters, finding all of them confused as they watch him for guidance. "Try to restore Delta's senses now, but we can't wait. This has to end."

Seraphim switches to audio into the arena, getting the attention of Odyssey and Demarcus, the latter having been looking around in confusion and growing fear as he realizes Elias isn't there and there was a cannon fired. "Tributes, we need these Games to end _now_. It's a matter of national security. So…fight, I guess? Please?"

 _Gong!_

The tributes don't move immediately for a couple seconds after the gong and Seraphim is about ready to yell at them to get moving already, before the first tribute starts running. Odyssey has made up his mind about who to fight first when facing the pair from District Four alone. He races towards Delta – now the weaker of the two, at least until the Gamemakers can get her senses back – and Demarcus hesitates for a moment, confusion and panic all over his face at everything going on, before chasing after him, realizing Odyssey is going for his District partner.

Delta is completely unaware of the impending threat as she takes a few steps forward, still screaming in panic over all five senses being taken away from her. And as Odyssey gets closer, Seraphim realizes what the rebels did. By taking away all of her senses and leaving her vulnerable, they guaranteed that Delta would not win the Games.

Demarcus yells at her to run, but it's useless. Seraphim briefly glances at the Games Headquarter feed to see if there's any chance of her getting her senses back, but it's too late. Odyssey slows as he reaches her, glancing down at his knife for a moment as hesitation crosses his face, before he flips it around in his hand to drive it down into her neck, getting past her armor and hitting vital arteries. Delta swings her spear blindly at the impact of the wound and slashes Odyssey's cheek, dangerously close to his eye, causing blood to start pouring down his face. Odyssey steps back quickly as Delta gasps and puts a hand to her neck, her eyes widening in surprise and realization as she stumbles back from him. She never saw the attack coming, nor can she feel the blood pouring out over her hands as she drops down to her knees, gasping for air before falling face first into the sand.

 _Boom._

"No!" Demarcus shouts at his District partner falling and Odyssey tears his gaze away from the body of his former ally, his face unreadable as he turns towards the last tribute remaining in the arena with him. Demarcus stops about ten feet from Odyssey, staring at the boy from Two as he takes rapid shallow breaths and grips his spear tightly in front of him. "How could- Delta- how could you?"

"I'm sorry, Demarcus," Odyssey tells his former ally slowly, glancing down at the bloody knife in his hand and his face twists with guilt before turning to look at Demarcus once more. "You know how the Games work… I couldn't fight both of you together."

Tears start to form in Demarcus' eyes as he glances at Delta's body, surrounded by a pool of blood, and he shakes his head at Odyssey, "You didn't even give her a chance."

"Would you have done the same if it was Bell?" Odyssey asks, pain in his voice as he mentions his fallen friend. He takes a deep breath to steady himself as he prepares himself for one last fight, "Demarcus… I'm sorry for this, I really am. I promise I'll make it quick…"

"No," Demarcus whispers as he takes a step back from Odyssey while shaking his head. "I can't- no, I can't lose."

"Neither can I," Odyssey answers as he lunges forward, starting the last fight of the Sixth Quarter Quell.

Demarcus sidesteps to dodge Odyssey's knife, only for the boy from Two to make another move right away, forcing Demarcus to use the shaft of his spear to knock Odyssey's hand away. Demarcus keeps taking steps back and blocking Odyssey's attacks fairly easily as Odyssey is slower with his non-dominant hand. Odyssey's choice of weapon forces him to keep getting dangerously close to Demarcus, well within the range of his spear, and as time goes on, Demarcus slowly starts making hits on Odyssey. Some just slide off his armor, doing no harm, while some cut his skin in the few places not covered by armor.

"He needs to get off the defensive," Seraphim mutters to himself as he watches the fight making little progress. They'll be here all day at this rate, and Seraphim can't afford that. Not when it gives the rebels more time to interfere.

But as time goes on, there's a slow shift in Demarcus as his expression grows less panicked, finding comfort in the routine of a fight and his body shifts into instinct that was drilled into him from years of training. Odyssey starts to notice the change too, growing a bit more careful with his attacks as he's forced to start defending himself more from Demarcus. He dodges the spear better than Demarcus dodges his knife, more comfortable moving around in the armor, but it doesn't stop Demarcus from stabbing his spear out, trying to strike Odyssey in the neck.

Odyssey gasps and steps back in shock as he tries to put his metal hand to his neck to stop the bleeding on instinct, but flinches away from the cool metal and looks down to find blood on it. Demarcus only sliced the side of his neck, not deep enough to kill him, but enough to spark fear in Odyssey. Demarcus starts frowning at the injury he caused as the two boys stare at each other for a moment, both breathing heavy from the fighting and bleeding from various injuries. "Odyssey," Demarcus tries to tell Odyssey, but the boy from Two has anger slowly burning in his eyes.

Odyssey lunges forward once more with a yell, fueled by rage and guilt from the things he's done in the arena and starts attacking Demarcus with renewed vigor. But Demarcus fights back, driven by fear to defend himself. Both boys keep landing blows on each other, but Seraphim can start to tell they're growing tired from the long fight and it will only be a matter of time before the adrenaline starts to fade away and one of them slips up.

Sure enough, that moment happens not too long after. Demarcus has been defending himself from Odyssey's attacks, watching the boy's movements and studying them. Seraphim does the same, noticing the not so smooth movements of his knife in his non-dominant hand, and Demarcus soon takes advantage of that and makes an attack with his spear. Not at Odyssey's neck or chest, but one of the other small exposed areas of skin.

Odyssey cries out in pain as the spear pierces his hand, forcing him to drop his knife to the ground. He quickly steps back from Demarcus while holding his injured hand to his chest, fear in his eyes as Demarcus stares back at him with shock in his eyes. Odyssey shakily moves his hand away from his chest, trying to see how bad the damage is, and his face pales as he sees the wound going through his hand.

The two stare each other down as both realize that Odyssey no longer has a weapon to fight with. He could go for the knife but put himself at risk of getting attacked when he reaches for it on the ground. Odyssey holds both hands to his chest as Demarcus frowns at him, guilt all over his face. "I don't want to do this, Odyssey, but I have to. My family…they need me to win."

Demarcus adjusts his grip on his spear, having the chance to end this, but clearly hesitating. Odyssey takes a shaky breath as he stands up taller, but he doesn't look resigned to his fate. No, Seraphim can see his brain turning and the fire in his eyes as he faces Demarcus. Odyssey briefly glances down at his hands before facing Demarcus once more, shaking his head at the boy from Four. "No, Demarcus, _I'm_ sorry for this."

Odyssey lunges towards Demarcus and the boy from Four goes to defend himself with the spear, but Odyssey knocks it to the side with his metal hand. Demarcus' eyes widen in panic at losing his weapon and at the realization the Odyssey _does_ still have something to fight with, more so than he does with just his bare fists. Odyssey yells as he steps forward, knocking his fist into Demarcus' jaw, the crack of metal on bone making Seraphim cringe as the bone shatters. The hit sends Demarcus sprawling back, crying out in pain at his broken jaw.

Odyssey tackles Demarcus, his fist raised to keep punching and end the fight. His breathing is heavy from anger and the fight, but he slowly realizes what he has done to Demarcus and what he was about to do. He steps back as guilt replaces the anger on his face and shakes his head. "No…not like this," he whispers, but it's barely audible over Demarcus' groans of pain as he tries to clutch his jaw. Odyssey glances around, finding the spear closer than his abandoned knife and does his best to pick it up, taking in a sharp breath of pain as he struggles to hold the spear in his damaged hand. His hand shakes as he steps back over to Demarcus and the boy from Four tries to push himself back from him as he sees Odyssey standing over him with the spear. "I'm sorry about this, Demarcus. But after everything…I can't lose now."

"No-" Demarcus yells out and tries to put his hand up to stop the spear as Odyssey brings it down, stabbing through Demarcus' neck, quickly cutting off his screams. Odyssey lets go of the spear and takes a few steps back, staring down at the boy from Four as he rapidly bleeds out, just waiting and waiting…

 _Boom._

Odyssey drops down to his knees at the final cannon, letting out a scream of…relief, anger, grief…Seraphim can't tell what. The fanfare begins and Odyssey turns his face up to the sky, tears falling down his cheeks as Kora's voice enters the arena, with Odyssey being the only one left to hear it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the victor of the Sixth Quarter Quell is Odyssey Gunderson!"

Seraphim lets out a breath at the announcement and stands up, his legs shaking as he turns to face the crew around him. "Let's get him up now."

The hovercraft is quickly in motion as it appears and drops down a ladder, all the while Seraphim watching as Odyssey stands up to step onto the ladder, making sure nothing is going to happen to him. Odyssey is frozen in place and brought on board with no problems and it's only when the hovercraft is in motion back towards the Capitol that Seraphim allows himself to relax and turn to Zephyr. He immediately shakes his head at the grin on the victor's face, but fights off his own smile, "I'm going to get accused of favoritism, you know."

"Nah, the victory was all him," Zephyr answers him, still grinning at the fact that District Two has a new victor. "He fought through hell and earned it."

"Well let's go see him," Seraphim takes Zephyr's hand and leads him over to the next room of the hovercraft where a team has descended on Odyssey, cleaning his wounds and temporarily stopping the bleeding until they can get him to the Capitol to thoroughly heal him. Seraphim stops for a moment, studying his newest victor. His hair is a tangled mess with sand and blood mixed in it. Cuts are all over him as the armor is taken off of him, revealing his body that's lost weight over the seven days in the arena. But his eyes…a haunted look is in his eyes as he stares down at the floor, just letting the doctors do whatever to him.

Despite having the victor sitting in front of him, Seraphim doesn't find happiness in his Quarter Quell being over. Not after everything that has gone wrong at the hands of the rebels and with tributes missing still. But he does his best to focus on the new victor in front of him, knowing there will be time later to deal with that. He has done his job by finishing the Games and crowning a victor.

Seraphim clears his throat as he steps into the room, bringing Odyssey's gaze up to him. "Congratulations, Odyssey," Seraphim tells him as he steps closer to the newest victor and the doctors move out of his way. "I wish this were a more joyous moment but there are some things that I-"

Seraphim never gets to finish his sentence as Odyssey jumps up and punches him in the face – something he probably deserved –sending him backwards and knocking him unconscious.

* * *

 **I am SO incredibly excited to finally say that the victor of the Sixth Quarter Quell is Odyssey Gunderson from District Two! Congratulations to Dreamer for submitting the victor!**

 **Okay before I keep talking about Odyssey, some eulogies to do:**

 _Delta Zale [4], Ranked 3rd, Killed by Odyssey [2]:_

 _Delta was a hell of a firecracker, but I always knew that she would never be allowed to win by the rebels with how much they were interfering in the Games. At one point, I considered them taking her out to kill her themselves, but then decided it would be a worse thing for her to get so close to winning the Games and have that opportunity be taken away from her by the rebels. She was a ton of fun to write and added a lot into the subplot, and I enjoyed writing her start having feelings other than just anger and begin to feel friendship. Thank you Goldie for sending her! RIP Delta._

 _Demarcus Pollock [4], Ranked 2nd, Killed by Odyssey_ _[2]:_

 _Poor District Four could not catch a break this year. I'm a sucker for the careers that have a really good reason to win and are good people, and I channeled a lot of myself into writing Demarcus and his anxiety. He was a really good person and just doing his best to get the opportunity to help his family struggling with their own mental health, yet he struggled with the idea of killing and I knew his hesitation would be his downfall. He certainly tried his best in the finale, but it wasn't enough, even with the rebels tampering with his sight to make sure that Delta didn't win. Thank you Pi for sending him! RIP Demarcus._

 **And of course, this wouldn't be complete without acknowledging our newest victor:**

 _ **Odyssey Gunderson [2], Victor of the Sixth Quarter Quell:**_

 _FINALLY I CAN SAY THIS! Holy shit, this has been the hardest thing for me to not spoil. I know this will sound crazy, but it's the truth - it was always Odyssey. He was the first tribute I received for this story and he was my first and really only choice for victor. If you've followed other stories of mine, you know usually I'm so indecisive and torn between several choices and it changes over the course of the story, but not this time. I first thought about Odyssey being victor from when subs were open and once I wrote his intro, I was in love with him and could not even imagine killing him in the Games. So yeah, I've known the victor since summer of 2018. It blows my mind too just how long I have known this. Honestly all the things that happened to Odyssey in the Games were things I had to put in to make it less obvious that it was going to be him and to also try and knock Dreamer's hopes down because she has been so very hopeful this entire time. Dreamer, you don't even know how incredibly excited I am to finally get to share this with you! And also how incredibly difficult it has been to not reveal this to you XD I know he's your favorite valid boy from my stories and you finally have the answer to which one of your boys is my favorite too XD Also fun fact I can now share with you, for a while I had been considering Garth for the Wayward victor but then had to change those plans because you sent in Odyssey and I couldn't doom him lol. Thank you so very much for sending me Odyssey. I've truly loved him from the very start when you submitted him and I am so very happy to have him as our newest victor and to continue writing his story! Congratulations Odyssey!_

 **AHHH I'M SO EXCITED I FINALLY GET TO SHARE THE VICTOR WITH ALL OF YOU! Like I said, my victor choice has always been Odyssey so it's been a real struggle this entire story to not say something. We will of course be seeing Odyssey a few more times over the remainder of this story and how he is adjusting after his victory. I hope you're as excited as I am about the victor!**

 **The fate of five (5) tributes is still up in the air at this point. Buckle up, we're jumping full force into the subplot now! There are no guarantees on the fate of the tributes so you will have to sit tight and wait. The Games may be over but we're far from ending this story.**

 **I'll end this long A/N with one question: did Seraphim deserve that punch? (He'll be fine lol)**

 **I actually have the next two chapters written because I'm excited and have been impatient in the wait for this chapter lol. I'll s** **ee you all very soon with the next chapter!**


	47. The Archer

**Chapter 43:**

 _The Day The Quell Ended_

 _Odyssey Gunderson, Victor of the Sixth Quarter Quell_

As Odyssey comes to, he groans at the fog in his brain and keeps his eyes shut for a while, letting the anesthesia make its way out of his system. He's not quite ready to face reality yet – even if that reality is just a hospital room for one. Facing reality means having to face the things that he did…and he really isn't ready for that yet, or to face the people he cares about. He's almost glad to have a few days of being in the hospital, sleeping without nightmares from the drugs they're giving him to heal him faster, and figure out how he's going to face the people back in Two. He can't even imagine that they won't view him differently after all of this. If the situation was reversed…no, he doesn't want to think about that and let his mind spiral.

Slowly he opens his eyes and just stares up at the ceiling, listening to the sounds of the room, his heart rate monitor steadily beeping, and the smell – _he can smell again._ Odyssey takes in a deep breath, taking in all the gross smells that just scream hospital, and when he lets out that breath, tears begin to form in his eyes. He never thought he would be so happy to smell a hospital, but the antiseptic smell is just one more reminder that he is out of that arena. It's done…he's never going to have to step foot in that place again, never going to feel blood on his hands, never going to see the light fade out of someone's eyes as he takes their life… Five sets of eyes that will haunt him at night.

Yet despite being out of that hellhole, Odyssey still feels like a part of him was left behind there. An innocence, in a way, even though that seems silly to him since he volunteered for this and knew exactly what he would have to do to get out of there alive. He knew that he would have to take lives and was trained to do that efficiently. And yet…he never expected what happened to him. Never expected to be forced into a fight where he either had to kill his friend or die himself. Never expected to be so consumed by a burning rage and then deal with the aftermath of guilt and regret for what he did. He paid the price for it and he deserves to have the daily reminder of what he did in that arena. He needs to be reminded of the price for taking five lives, reminded of what can happen if he lets rage consume him.

Odyssey slowly lifts his right arm up in front of his face, finding most of it wrapped up in bandages. But just the tips of the prosthetic fingers stick out from the bandages and he reaches up with his good hand – although that's really just good in regards to his right hand given the bandages there and wound patched up – feeling the tug of wires connected to his arm. He hesitantly touches the tips of the fingers, but he recoils right away at the feel of the prosthetic, his mind struggling to process the feeling that's so close to human skin, yet foreign. Repulsed by the feeling, he puts his arms back down, letting out a loud sigh. It's going to take him so long to adjust to this… Learning how to use the prosthetic, adjusting to life and relearning how to do things that were second nature to him before. His recovery is just getting started…both physically and mentally.

What will be harder to recover? His hand or his heart?

Someone clears their throat and Odyssey lets out a high pitched scream of surprise as he frantically sits up, holding his left fist in front of him in defense. But a hand is quickly on his shoulder and gently pushing him back down as his heart rate rises, and he has to remind himself that he is no longer in danger. But it's hard not to have his body on edge after a week in the Hunger Games. "Hey, relax kid."

Odyssey blinks at the man helping him raise the bed to a seated position, wondering if maybe he had a concussion and is hallucinating. He doesn't remember getting hit in the head, but why else would Zephyr be in his hospital room? "Ze-"

Odyssey breaks off to start coughing, his throat raw from being under for surgery. His eyes widen as he looks at the end of his bed where Head Gamemaker Lukianas is standing, the side of his face filled with a very dark bruise from where Odyssey punched him in the face. Odyssey flinches a little at the bruise, a bit of fear forming in his stomach at the thought of getting in trouble for it. He doesn't regret it and still thinks Seraphim deserves it, but also now that the adrenaline of the fight has worn off, he knows it was a stupid thing to do and he wouldn't have done that now.

"With all due respect," Odyssey starts, his voice hoarse and Zephyr hands him some water that he slowly sips before continuing, "I am not going to apologize for punching you. And why are you here? Both of you?"

Seraphim gently reaches up and touches the dark bruise on the side of his face, "I didn't expect you to. I probably should have expected that reaction from you and waited a bit to speak to you. But trust me, that's not the worst thing a victor has done to me. You didn't send me through a table," Seraphim chuckles quietly to himself, making Odyssey raise an eyebrow at that statement. Zephyr clears his throat, getting Seraphim to grow serious once more. "Right, anyways, we need to talk to you."

"What if I don't want to talk to you?" Odyssey asks honestly, growing tired just from being awake after the surgery and the week in the arena. He stares at Seraphim, tears forming in his eyes as he thinks of everything that happened to him, all stemming from the moment this man standing in front of him made him fight against Bell. "You put me through hell in that arena."

"Yes, he did, and I've already told him several times how mean that decision was and Darach, Glacia, and Kat also gave him an earful when we let them stop by to see you safe after the surgery," Zephyr says in a huff as he crosses his arms at Odyssey.

"Sounds terrifying facing one of them, let alone all three at once," Odyssey manages to joke with Zephyr and when the victor – his _fellow_ victor – cracks a smile at this, Odyssey starts to chuckle, but soon turns into a cough from his throat being hoarse.

"It was petrifying," Seraphim says, sounding genuinely terrified. Odyssey looks back over at him, surprised to see the Head Gamemaker terrified by victors. "Zephyr didn't even help me out at all."

"You kind of deserved it," Odyssey mutters under his breath and Zephyr hears him, making him start laughing and nodding his head in agreement.

"Okay can we stop making fun of me please?" Seraphim asks, sounding exasperated by them. "We do have a national security issue here."

"Right," Zephyr says as he clears his throat, growing serious once more but another laugh still slips out. "Anyways. Look, kid, if you don't just listen to us for five minutes, we won't send Misha in after we're done."

"Is this some kind of sick joke to keep punishing me even out of the arena?" Odyssey tenses up at this, glancing back and forth between the two of them, not wanting to get his hopes up in case they're lying to him. He trusts Zephyr, but Seraphim? He doesn't have the greatest opinion of the Head Gamemaker right now. "Misha is really here?"

"Just outside the door," Seraphim tells him and Odyssey glances over at the door before quickly turning away, a nervous feeling building up in him at the thought of seeing Misha. He wants to see him, he really does…but what does Misha think of what he did in that arena? Even Odyssey is ashamed of himself…surely the others feel that way too. "The victors are all locked down in either this building or the Victor Villages, but we made an exception and flew Misha out, figuring it would get you to cooperate with us."

"Cooperate with what?" Odyssey asks hesitantly as he turns back to Seraphim, still not trusting him. "And I doubt he even wants to see me…"

Zephyr gives him a sad smile at this and pats his shoulder gently a few times. "Trust me, he definitely wants to see you."

"Well…" Odyssey hesitates, still not quite trusting Seraphim. But if Misha wants to see him…Odyssey wants to see him too, but he's just afraid of his reaction. "Okay, I'll listen."

"Very well," Seraphim says with a nod of his head. He takes a deep breath before launching into it, "We're in the middle of a rebel threat right now. The President will be making an announcement to the country later today and the mentors know, but…well, the rebels kidnapped five tributes from the arena."

Odyssey blinks at him in surprise, his brain struggling to wrap around this. "Wait, what? Who?"

"Yes, kidnapped tributes," Seraphim repeats, sharing an anxious look with Zephyr. "First was Adam, then Anastacia, Amelia and Fox at the Trial by Combat, and finally Elias."

"So that's what happened before the finale?" Odyssey asks, getting a nod of confirmation from Seraphim. "How did they kidnap him?"

"They took him from the launch room," Seraphim sighs at this, clearly troubled by the kidnapped tributes. "I didn't know what else to do aside from end the Games quickly to make sure they didn't compromise anyone else. Also the rebels turned all of Delta's senses on and gave Demarcus his sight back to make sure you or Demarcus would win instead of her. And a bunch of other things that don't matter right now aside from the fact that there are five tributes missing right now."

Odyssey shakes his head, trying to process all of this information. He didn't even know that there were rebels in the country! And now…now there are tributes out there still alive? Tributes that didn't die and could maybe have a second chance at life, one they might not have if they had stayed in the arena. Escaped the fate that happened to his friend and the tributes he killed.

"So what you're saying is," Odyssey starts slowly, his voice low and making Seraphim glance nervously at Zephyr. "There's a chance that Bell could have still been alive if you hadn't forced us to fight against each other?"

"Well, we don't know for sure that the rebels would have taken her," Seraphim gives a nervous chuckle as Zephyr puts a firm hand on Odyssey's shoulder, keeping him down in the bed. "We don't know why they took the tributes that they did – aside from Adam. She still might have died in the arena considering they only took one career so-"

"You made me kill my friend!" Odyssey yells at him, tears welling in his eyes as his mind replays over and over the moment he plunged his spear into Bell, the blood on his hands, the fear in her eyes as she laid there, knowing she was dying… "She might have been alive still but you didn't give her the chance!"

"And you might not have been victor if she was still alive at that point," Zephyr tells him harshly, leaning over to make Odyssey look at him. "You don't know how that might have had a snowball effect if that fight never happened. She's not coming back and you need to be grateful that you made it out of that arena alive because sixteen tributes didn't and the other five are being held prisoners by fucking _rebels_."

Odyssey sinks back into his pillows at Zephyr raising his voice at him, instantly going back to younger years in the training center before he got serious about it and he would get yelled at by the victors and trainers for joking around. "I can't just let go of it," Odyssey tells him, his voice meek as he shakes his head. "Not after what I did after her death."

"Would you like me to pull up a list of all the victors that did something awful in their arena?" Zephyr asks him with a pointed look, and Odyssey shakes his head once more. "I'm sure Seraphim can easily get those records. But the answer is a majority of the victors. Most don't win by being nice or fair. I exploited the known mentoring styles of my allies to take them down and betray them. When you're in the Games, it's fight or die. You just made the choices that earned you the title of victor."

Seraphim clears his throat and the two victors both look over at him, Odyssey's anger dissipating as quickly as it arrived as he knows Zephyr is right… He just doesn't want to admit it to himself. It's easier to stay wallowing in self-pity than admit he did things that were wrong, all so he could stay alive. "I _am_ sorry for putting you two against each other… Zephyr has made me understand how it was in his words, a bit of a dick move. Entertaining, yes, but not nice for you two. Would I make the decision again? Probably, since it's my job to keep the Games exciting. And the country is talking about you."

"I'm sure they have _great_ things to say about me," Odyssey grumbles at this, really not believing that the country would be rooting for him after everything he did in that arena.

Seraphim shares a look with Zephyr before sighing, "Yes, I'm sure some aren't happy with you, but the majority is. And we need that right now. We don't know what might happen in the next few days…but we could certainly use the support of the newest victor."

"I really don't see how I can be helpful," Odyssey shrugs at him as he wonders if he could say no to him. But he probably should push his luck again against one of the most powerful people in the country, he might not be as forgiving this time. "I can try…but not because you asked. I'll do it because it's the right thing to do and maybe by doing this…I can make up for what I did in the Games."

"I told you he would help," Zephyr tells Seraphim as he gives Odyssey a few pats on the shoulder. He stands up, stretching his arms above his head before giving Odyssey a grin. "Don't stay up too long with Misha, your body needs to recover."

"Thanks for listening and agreeing to help, Odyssey," Seraphim tells him as worry spreads across his face. "This is so much bigger than the Games… We need all the help we can get. And now we'll send Misha in."

"Thanks…" Odyssey says slowly, not sure if he's ready to see Misha just yet. But what is he supposed to say to stop them? Tell them he's afraid of Misha rejecting him for what he did? He just thought he would have more time to prepare himself before seeing Misha…

Seraphim and Zephyr leave the door open behind them and Odyssey can hear muffled talking out in the hallway as he watches the empty doorway nervously. He doesn't know what he's even going to say to Misha. Try to make some sort of joke and pretend the Games didn't just happen? Start crying and beg Misha to not see him as the person he was in the arena?

Odyssey doesn't have much time to try and figure it out before Misha is stepping into the doorway where he pauses to lean against the doorway, just looking over and taking him in. Odyssey does the same, avoiding eye contact as he takes in the casual outfit of sweats, the disheveled hair, and the tired look on his face. But he doesn't miss the smile slowly beginning to form on Misha's face as he stares at Odyssey. "Hey there, denial boy."

A smile starts to form on Odyssey's face at the nickname he gave himself back at the party as Misha starts to walk into the room and Odyssey nervously looks down at his hands for a moment. "Hey," he says softly, glancing up a bit to look over at Misha, before groaning at the increased beeps coming from the heart rate monitor. He quickly rips off the electrodes connected to his chest as his cheeks heat up, embarrassed by the literal beeping sign to Misha of how he feels right now. "I got snitched by the hospital."

"They're going to come in here now thinking something is wrong, you know," Misha tells him, a hint of laughter in his voice that makes Odyssey flop back down onto the bed and pull a pillow over his head to hide from him.

"This is not how I pictured this happening," Odyssey says, voice muffled by the pillow as the door opens and Misha quietly reassures the doctors that Odyssey is fine.

Odyssey lifts the pillow a little to peek over at Misha as he walks over, amused smile on his face but his eyes show his hesitation. Odyssey sighs as he moves the pillow and sets it in his lap as Misha hesitates next to his bed, before Odyssey moves over and pats the free space next to him. "Sit, please?" Misha does as he asked and looks at Odyssey for a few seconds, letting him see what rough shape the victor is in right now. From the scruff on his face, he probably hasn't shaved since the Games started. His eyes are red and lined with heavy bags, making Odyssey start frowning at Misha's current state. "Are you okay?"

"Here you are, just got out of surgery, and you're asking _me_ if I'm okay," Misha scoffs at this and forms a small smile as he shakes his head. "I'm supposed to be asking you that."

"Well I think the hospital setting gives away how I'm doing," Odyssey teases, using the humor to try and lighten up his own mood that's rapidly spiraling down at seeing Misha looking so rough. Surely it's his fault… "I bet if I stood up you would even see my butt."

"Woah there, maybe you shouldn't be moving out of your bed yet," Misha says through laughter as Odyssey pretends to try and stand up, and the sound makes him start genuinely smile. "No need to move that fast. We have plenty of time and opportunity for me to see your butt when we're not in a hospital."

"Do we?" Odyssey asks, growing serious once more. It was such a harmless statement, yet he doesn't know for sure if they will have that time. He doesn't know why Misha would want to be with him after seeing a nasty side of him in that arena. "I wouldn't blame you if after everything that happened you wouldn't want anything to do with me…"

Odyssey turns away from Misha as he feels his eyes prickling with tears, not wanting to watch Misha's face when he rejects him. "Odyssey…" Misha says softly before letting out a sigh. He gently takes Odyssey's hand, making him look back up at the older victor. "Do you really think I would be here if I didn't want to be with you? Or that I would have spent the past week barely sleeping or able to take myself away from the screen because I was worried that if I did, something would happen to you? Or not showered for days?"

"I probably didn't need to know that last one," Odyssey jokes as he uses the bandages over his arm to wipe away tears threaten to fall. He jokingly sniffs a few times and tries to make a face pretending Misha smells, but this just makes the tears come harder when he's able to smell the fresh clean smell of Misha.

"I showered before I came here," Misha says through laughter, before grabbing a tissue from the side of his bed and using it to gently wipe away the tears falling down Odyssey's cheeks. "Here, don't use your bandages to wipe away tears. That's not what they're there for."

"Sorry I'm a mess right now," Odyssey tells him softly before turning away from him, embarrassed to be turning into a blubbering mess in front of him. "I just expected more time to put myself back together a bit before I saw you, not that you would show up when I'm in a hospital gown."

"Don't apologize," Misha whispers as he uses his hand to gently move Odyssey's face so he's looking at him once more. "I've been where you are before. Screw anyone who tries to tell you that you can't be feeling this way right now. And don't ever apologize for feeling whatever it is you're going through."

"I don't really want to screw everyone that tries to tell me that," Odyssey jokes through his tears, making Misha shake his head at him, despite the smile on his face that he's fighting. "But you don't understand…"

"I don't?" Misha asks, confusion on his face as he raises an eyebrow and tilts his head at Odyssey. "I would argue I know better than most people."

Odyssey shakes his head at this, knowing Misha is right. All his fellow victors in Two will know what he's going through more than his family or friends. But they didn't go through exactly what he did… "You didn't have to kill your friend and then go on an angry spree fueled by the pain of taking her life that resulted in two more people being dead," Odyssey whispers, afraid to bring up what happened to him. Afraid that speaking it out loud will mean having to fully accept it and the way people view him for it.

"You're right," Misha agrees softly, surprising Odyssey at his agreement. He expected him to argue that he's wrong. "I don't know exactly what you're going through with that. But I know what you're going through with the confusion and guilt that comes from surviving the arena. The rest, well…I'll help you through it however I can. That is…if you want me around to help you. I would understand if you don't…it's my fault that you volunteered. I realized after the party that if I would have said something sooner, we could have figured out a different way to help you reach your dreams."

Odyssey lets out a big sigh at this, hating that Misha is blaming himself for the stupid choice he made on his own. "You'll get along great with my mother, she spent years telling me to find a different path. Listen to me," Odyssey pauses as he starts reaching over with his hand to put on Misha's cheek, before flinching away at the sight of the prosthetic. "It was my dumb decision, not yours. I didn't even think about alternatives, just thought the Games was the only way to get the fame to do drag as a career… I have to live with that choice and now…I need you around, not just want you around – which I certainly do a lot."

New tears start quickly pouring down his cheeks and he lets go of Misha's hand to grab tissues to try and wipe them away, but there's no stopping the flood of tears, or the flood of him words. "I just need one person that doesn't think I'm a monster for what I did or that I don't deserve to be here because right now I'm wondering a bit why I deserve it over the others that died. And now the Head Gamemaker is expecting me to be some sort of help with the country and I don't know how I'm supposed to do that when I can't even talk to you without becoming a blubbering idiot."

"The only part of that ramble that is true is the blubbering part," Misha tries to cheer him up, but this just makes Odyssey let out a sob and shake his head. Misha doesn't say anything else, instead leaning down and gently pulling him into a hug, clearly afraid of hurting him when he's supposed to be healing. But Odyssey doesn't give a damn about that now and wraps his arms around Misha, pulling him as close as possible to him and burying his nose in his hair. Never again is he going to take for granted something as simple as smelling things.

"Come here, you're not going to break me. The arena already did that," Odyssey tells him as he tries to pull Misha to lying next to him, only to find his arms weak and barely able to budge him. Instead, Misha moves carefully until he's laying next to Odyssey, holding him carefully around all the wires stuck in his arm or attached to him.

"You're not a monster," Misha whispers to him once settled next to him and Odyssey can feel a spot on his shoulder growing damp from Misha's tears, only making his own tears pour down his cheeks faster. "You're brave and handsome and courageous and you just did what you had to do to survive in that arena and I am proud of you for making it out of there. We all make mistakes in the arena…but what you did in there doesn't define you or the future."

"You don't know how badly I needed to hear that," Odyssey whispers to him, desperately holding on to the one thing keeping him grounded in reality right now and not going back into the arena. "I feel like I don't deserve you or being happy after all of that."

Misha picks up his head from Odyssey's shoulder so he can look at him with tearstained eyes, "Yes you do… You deserve to be happy, otherwise the deaths of the others will be in vain if you don't live now that you're a victor."

"Can we just take this one day at a time?" Odyssey asks him, feeling overwhelmed thinking too far ahead after just getting out of surgery and the arena. "Honestly…I kind of just want to sleep right now and forget about everything."

"I feel that, I could sleep for days. But forget everything?" Misha asks, a hint of teasing in his voice as he raises an eyebrow at him. "Even me?"

"Okay, everything but you," Odyssey answers and Misha laughs a little at this before leaning over to kiss him on the cheek, before resting his head back on his shoulder. Odyssey pulls him close once more and turns his face so his cheek rests against the top of Misha's head, and breaths in the smell of his woodsy shampoo for a minute, grounding him in right here and now. "Hey Misha? Stay with me, please."

"I'm not going anywhere."

* * *

 **Of course we needed to check in with our newest victor and see how he's doing after winning! It's still a bit surreal for me that we finally get to see Odyssey as the victor after so long of keeping it secret, but I'm excited for Victor Odyssey! And I didn't realize until before this chapter that we actually haven't seen Misha very much in story yet, but that's definitely going to change because as he said, he's not going anywhere. What do you think about Seraphim's decision to bring Misha out to get Odyssey to cooperate and will it work? And cooperate with _what_ exactly?**

 **I'm posting a deleted scene of Seraphim getting scolded by the three D2 victors and that will be up by time you reach this point, so check it out on my random story blog lol. You know I'll take any opportunity to write more of my D2 victors, especially this situation. Actually just keep an eye out for deleted scenes in general as we move forward because there's a lot of things I'd like to show but obviously there's only so much I can put in the actual story.**

 **We also got some hints at the subplot and next chapter we're jumping full force into it so buckle up! That chapter should probably be up within a week or two! It's time for us to start finding out just what the rebels are doing with the five kidnapped tributes (and Luciano) and learn their fates!**


	48. Painful Truth

**Chapter 44:**

 _The Night The Quell Ended_

 _Mendalius Xavier, President of Panem_

They can no longer keep everything happening secret from Panem. Mendalius had waited and waited, hoping they would sort this out and end whatever the rebels are up to before it reached this point. He didn't want to start widespread panic or give the rebels new allies by letting everyone know they exist. And for a while, they could just pass of the rebel actions as the work of Seraphim – even though he hates blaming him for things that have upset the country.

They could blame Adam's faked death on the delay at the start for the chariot mishap. Anastacia's kidnapping looked like a cheap trick with the sponsor gift, but at least the rebels made her death seem real. The disaster at the last Trial by Combat was…trickier to explain. Their excuse was flimsy at best, but the upcoming finale distracted them from thinking too much about it.

But Elias failing to launch for the finale? People were demanding answers about that, blaming them for not giving a crowd favorite the chance to fight. And not to mention them changing the senses for the finale as well. They might have a damn rebellion in District Four alone for what the rebels did to Delta.

Then there's the question of _how_ they all did this. At least he has the answer to that, discovered not too long ago now that the Games have ended and they could do a full search of the entire Games Headquarters and system.

Mendalius sighs as he waits at his desk, watching the crew around him make the final adjustments for his broadcast. His throat is tight from nervousness and he reaches for his tea, but sets the cup down when he notices how badly his hand is shaking.

"It's going to work out."

Mendalius glances over at Rosabella standing near him before sighing once more and shaking his head, "I have never been this nervous to make an announcement to the country. We're balancing on the edge right now and I worry that one wrong word will tip the favor into the rebel's hands and tear this country apart."

Rosabella steps closer to him and puts her hand on his shoulder, trying to provide a bit of comfort to him. "Have faith in your country. You have dedicated so much of your life towards improving this country for everyone, not just the Capitol. Panem knows what you have done and will support you now, just as they have for years."

"I would do anything to protect them," Mendalius answers softly as he looks up at Rosabella. "This country, it's citizens… I've sacrificed so much for them and I will continue to do so to keep them from an unnecessary war."

"I know," Rosabella says with a smile, but her eyes are full of fear. "Now you tell the country this. Be honest with them and they will see your reasons."

"I'm tired of all of this," Mendalius whispers as he gestures around the office. "I thought I had earned my retirement and rest, but it seems like the universe had other plans for me." He clears his throat as the head of staff approaches him hesitantly and takes a sip of tea to prepare himself. "Yes, it's time to let the country know that I have always looked out for their best interest and will continue to do so."

Rosabella hesitates for a few seconds, staring down at him with concern filled eyes, before finally giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze before stepping away from him and out of sight of the cameras. The crew steps in to fix his appearance – and then it is time.

Mendalius straightens in his chair, feeling the weight on his shoulders of holding together this country. He folds his hands together on the desk in front of him, but that's all he does as the camera begins broadcasting him to the country. No faking a smile and pretending that everything is alright this time. "Good evening, Panem. I know you have questions and I am here to provide answers. But first, I would like to say congratulations to Odyssey Gunderson for winning the Sixth Quarter Quell. He is safe here in the Capitol and just recently came out of surgery for his hand and on his way towards a full recovery."

Mendalius pauses at this, pursing his lips together to hold back showing any emotion to Odyssey punching Seraphim. Normally that would have been a bigger deal to have a victor hurt the Head Gamemaker, but it was mostly Seraphim's ego that was bruised and there are much bigger problems to deal with right now.

"There is something very important that I must discuss with you now and to start, I would like to ask for your forgiveness in not informing you about this sooner," Mendalius pauses, starting to frown at the thought of the country not forgiving him for this. "We hoped to quietly handle this problem and avoid widespread confusion and panic. But our hand has been forced and now I will be fully transparent with you."

Mendalius takes a deep breath, understanding that there is no going back after he tells the country this. But they deserve to know the full truth. "A rebel faction in District Seven has been interfering with the Quarter Quell. Not only did they try to manipulate the Games, they have kidnapped five tributes…Anastacia Astoria, Amelia Fensa, Elias Pilkvist, Adam Vignola, and Fox Durham. We don't know why they have done this, but we are putting in our full effort to locate these five and return them home safely to their families. I promise you, we _will_ get your children home to you alive."

"In addition, they have kidnapped one of our council members, Luciano Samson," Mendalius frowns, guilt building in him once more that he let them put themself in danger. "For some presidents, this would have been considered a declaration of war, but that is the last thing I want for this country… I have spent years building this country into a better version of itself and will do anything to keep it from falling apart. Rebels, I am talking to you now. I will give you one chance to surrender now with all of the captives alive and your lives will be spared. If not, we will do everything to find you and you will not like the results. You have 24 hours to respond before we make our move."

That's not entirely true as they already have a strike force that Theodosius put together searching for the rebel headquarters in Seven as he speaks, but he would like to give the rebels the chance to live. "Panem, I am asking you to please trust me when I tell you that I will do everything in my power to prevent a war from happening. And please, do not let this strike panic and fear within you. That is what the rebels want. We will not let a few renegades destroy the decades of peace we have built. Stay safe, Panem."

The camera shuts off and Mendalius sinks back in his chair, letting his exhaustion show freely on his face now that he is no longer being broadcast to the entire country. He stares ahead for a minute as the crew starts to pack up the equipment, respectfully ignoring his gaze. But one person dares to meet his gaze as she sits across from him at his desk. Rosabella reaches across the desk to grab his hand, trying to give him an encouraging smile, but Mendalius isn't reassured when he sees tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "We're going to find them. All of them."

"But will they all be alive?" Mendalius asks her, knowing the odds of getting all six people out of a hostage situation alive are slim. "And what will be the cost for the country?"

"There won't be a cost," Rosabella says optimistically, but they both know that's a lie. "We have to stay hopeful about this. Surely they don't want a war as well, everyone knows the casualty count for both sides in the Second Rebellion."

"I don't know about that," Mendalius answers before taking a slow sip of his tea. "They were willing to attempt an assassination on Seraphim last year and now they have kidnapped Luciano. Seems to me that they want a war-"

"Sir!"

They both look over at the Head of Security Kostas as she runs into the room, out of breath as she races to the television. Mendalius stands up, putting his hands on his desk to lean closer, "What's going on?"

"Seems the rebels were ready to respond – I don't know if that's a good thing. We're getting a broadcast trying to get through from the Districts, but we can't track the source. It seems to be continuously changing," Kostas answers in a fluster as she flips the screen on and reveals a symbol that Mendalius knows he's seen recently. Kostas gasps and points at it, "That necklace! Anastacia's mother was wearing that symbol!"

"Put out an arrest warrant for the Astoria family immediately," Mendalius tells her as he steps around his desk to get closer to the screen. Kostas begins a call as the rebel symbol fades away, being replaced with a scene that immediately freezes him in place.

A woman stands in front of a forest that looks like every other bit of forest in Seven, giving them no indication of where the rebels are located. Kneeling to her left is Luciano, hands cuffed in front of them and looking absolutely terrible, beaten and bruised and bleeding all over. Yet their face remains hard and from the way the woman has a tight hold on the chain connected to their handcuffs, Mendalius suspects Luciano has not given them any information, despite the torture the rebels must have inflicted on them.

And to her right…Mendalius quickly looks over all five tributes lined up, letting out a sigh of relief when all of them are still alive. Yet they're far from looking alright as they're handcuffed and held in place by four rebel leaders that Mendalius recognizes from the profiles Luciano put together on them. Anastacia keeps turning her head around, making comments under her breath that make Ilarion Christian push her to shut her up, only further fueling her. Amelia's lip quivers in fear as she stands there quietly, but standing her ground as Rosana Arnott keeps a hand on her shoulder. Beside her, Elias is held upright mostly by Pierre Ottlinger standing behind him with their arms wrapped around him as Elias' eyes are glazed over, making Mendalius suspect they have drugged him to keep him from fighting back. On the end, Fox is doing his best to help keep Adam standing with his hands cuffed together, all while the grandfather of Adam's baby, Anton Martinez, keeps a hand on both of their shoulders.

"Good evening, Panem," the woman starts with a cruel smile. "You may not know me, but you will now. I am Vera Snow, great granddaughter of Coriolanus Snow and leader of the rebel alliance. We have heard the message from the President and we have our own offer in return."

Vera gestures to her sides at the people she has imprisoned. "Yes, we have kidnapped a council member and some of your children. We needed to be heard by the President and now, Panem, you will see the true colors of your President. Is he truly the benign person that cares about the Districts like he claims? If he was, he wouldn't put your _children_ through the Hunger Games year after year. These are the lives he takes away from us and would have, if we had not taken them out of the arena."

"A child who has trained for years for this and blindly volunteered for a death match, thinking it will bring her glory," Vera walks over to Anastacia, gripping the girl's chin to look at her closer.

"Blindly volunteered, real nice choice of words," Anastacia answers under her breath as she pulls back from Vera, who moves on to Amelia.

Amelia glares back at Vera as she takes her chin, but smartly holds her tongue. "A child promised the great opportunity of education and safety, only to be ripped away from it while all alone in a different District from her family."

Vera doesn't touch Elias, the poor boy barely knowing what is going on around him. "A child abused to the point of physical and mental damage, all because his parents wanted him to fight in the Hunger Games for the _glory_."

Vera stops in front of Fox and Adam, the two boys looking terrified as she stares them down. "And not just children, but _fathers_." Vera turns back to the camera as she returns to her original spot, shaking her head, "Not only is the Hunger Games now taking away our children, but now they are ripping away parents. Do we really want to live in a country full of fear that will so easily destroy families?"

"Here is my offer, President Xavier," Vera stares down the camera, pausing to make sure everyone is listening to what she has to say. "It is time to see how much you truly care about the people of this country. Tell me, Xavier, do you really care about these five children that you were willing to let die for the sake of entertainment? If you do, end the Hunger Games. For each day you wait, one of them will die. Time to prove to the country how you really feel about the people of the Districts. And in case you think I am not serious about this ultimatum, we will start with the life of your council member."

Vera kicks Luciano forward, who lets out a grunt of pain and glares up at her. "Luciano Samson, double agent for the Capitol… You lied quite well to us, but your secret is out. Your great grandmother must be rolling in her grave for you working with a man who has kept the Hunger Games going."

"Korrina would be proud of me," Luciano spits on the ground at Vera's feet, clearly insulted by the insinuation. "Unlike your ancestor who tore this country apart. Clearly that's a genetic trait."

"Quit, you scum!" Vera shouts as she shoves them, only making Luciano laugh at her weak attempt to hurt them. Luciano looks up past her, and a slow smile begins to form on their face at something they see of camera.

"I am not afraid of dying. But are you, Vera Snow?" Luciano asks Vera, who follows their gaze, struggling in the dusk to find what they are looking at. They let out a low whistle that they hold for a couple seconds, before sharply increasing the pitch and a shiver of fear goes down Mendalius' spine when he realizes what Theodosius sent out with their strike force. "Kill Vera," Luciano whispers before chaos erupts.

A loud screech sounds and everyone in Seven searches around as Luciano does their best to shove themself away from Vera Snow as the large mutt swoops down out of the sky. In a flash, Vera is picked up by the bird and taken into the sky, screaming as she is taken out of view of the camera, and Mendalius knows exactly what is going to happen to her.

"Mother!" A person shouts as they step into view, only to get pulled back by a man that they fight back against as Vera's screams approach them, just before her body slams into the ground, her bones cracking as her body is shattered by the impact.

Everything is silent for a moment as everyone stares at Vera's body, before the silence is broken by the young person crying out, breaking the spell that froze them all in place. Luciano looks up at the camera as Anton steps towards them, pulling out a gun tucked in his waistband. "Do whatever it-"

 _Crack!_

Luciano stays upright for a few seconds as they look down at blood leaking out of their chest before they collapse to the ground. Rosabella cries out next to him, mourning the council member, as the people in Seven panic. The tributes scream at the gun shot and Anastacia starts shouting for someone to tell her what is going on as the rebel leaders all pull out guns and search around, trying to secure the area. Vera's child has thrown themself onto her body, sobbing and fighting against their father trying to pull them away. The camera gets knocked over and from the spot sideways on the ground, Mendalius sees a familiar person run over to the tributes, followed by a few others her age, and Khaya looks around and starts pulling the tributes away just before the screen fades to black.

Mendalius doesn't move for a minute as he continues to stare at the black screen, frozen in place by everything he just witnessed, too shocked to begin to know what to even feel right now. Rosabella quietly weeps next to him and Kostas shuts off the screen before clearing her throat as she faces Mendalius. "Sir…I'd like to apologize for sending the thunderbird into Seven. I did not anticipate Council Member Luciano using the weapon in this situation and thought the strike team would use it only when absolutely necessary."

"Luciano made the choice when faced with their death. They knew the risks and consequences, now we have to address them. Their death will _not_ be in vain, so call Theodosius and get him here. We're going to Seven to end this," Mendalius says coldly as he continues to stare at the blank screen, the image of Luciano bleeding out on the ground burned into his mind. The rebels might have pulled the trigger, but their death is on his hands as well. Even though he knows they would deny it being his fault, but it is. He was the one that sent them back to Seven before the Games started. They would still be alive if he kept them in the Capitol… "And someone check on Winona and Stefan and make sure neither of them starts a war before we do."

"Sir…" Rosabella says cautiously and Mendalius slowly takes his gaze away from the blank screen to look at her. "Are we really going to start a war?"

"Luciano might have by using the thunderbird to kill their leader," Mendalius lets out a heavy sigh, thinking through all the consequences from what might happen in the next few days. A war is not how he wanted to end his presidency. He never wanted a war at _all_ during his presidency. But if it means protecting his country… "We'll do our best to negotiate first, see if they agree to our plan to end the Games. But that requires both sides to agree, so if it comes down to it and there are no other options, yes, we will. I will do anything to stop these renegades from staring the Third Rebellion."

* * *

 ** _Let the subplot begin..._**

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 **Okay I love being dramatic but I won't be _that_ dramatic and leave that as the entire A/N XD Yeah we just went there. I really just killed those people. No one in the subplot is safe and next chapter is going to just up the stakes as we see two sides meet that are very angry at each other.**

 **Will a Third Rebellion happen? Stay tuned to find out!**

 **I'll see you all soon in a few weeks. Keep an eye on my profile as I have a schedule that I am hoping to keep up for the next couple of months with updates between this and Legacy!**


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